Safely fueling military aircraft

Many military aircraft can’t safely fly without fuel bladders, which are flexible tanks manufactured to withstand a crash and bullets without failing. This manufacturing process has been perfected by American Fuel Cell and Coated Fabrics (Amfuel) in Magnolia, Arkansas, as they’ve been honing their craft since World War II.

Originally founded by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, Amfuel fell on hard times almost six years ago as they were only employing 67 people, delivering products on time 17% of the time, and in bankruptcy. LB Advisors and JetCapital then came together to purchase the company, invest more than $65 million into the facilities, infrastructure, and equipment, and, with help from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), got Amfuel back on track.

“...our deliveries in the first nine months of ownership went up to 77% ON TIME DELIVERY...”

“In a very short period of time we were able to increase our throughput, our deliveries in the first nine months of ownership went up to 77% on time delivery, which is extraordinary, especially referring to a product that’s so difficult to manufacture,” says Michael Accordino, president at Amfuel. “It was through a committee of senior military leadership and through the results right out of the gates as well as the plan we put forward that enabled the program offices within NAVAIR to step up and support and invest in Amfuel as well as a Title 3 grant. We received more than $55 million in total to ensure the viability and strength of Amfuel for decades.”

A labor-intensive process

Amfuel currently manufactures self-sealing, crash-resistant bladders for many platforms including the F-15, F-16, F/A-18 fighters, KC-135 tankers, and C-130 transporters, along with CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopters, H-1 upgrade program transport and attack helicopters, and other platforms. Each bladder is specifically made for each with different geometries and requirements as it goes through multiple steps before Amfuel can place them in military or commercial aircraft.

“We have automated presses to manufacture fittings, a calender to make our material, a lot of it’s handmade so it’s very labor-intensive,” says Faith Elliott, vice president of operations at Amfuel. “We have CNC machines to cut the panels once the fabric is laid out. We’ll make a single use form that goes inside the bladder to make the shape, then we lay the panels on top and spray on a fuel barrier. Then multiple outer ply layers are added, then we’ll put it into the autoclave that uses pressure and heat to ‘cook’ everything together and you have your fuel bladder.”

Investing in the present and future

It’s not a new manufacturing process for Amfuel, but the recent investments have changed the way the nearly 350 employees in their 500,000ft² facility think and work when manufacturing fuel bladders. Amfuel bought two new autoclaves to vulcanize and cure the material, new digital presses to help produce fittings more efficiently and accurately, and new R&D and quality labs, along with building a new robotic spray facility with two robotic fuel barrier spray booths proprietary to Amfuel.

There’s also an entire testing division where the bladders are tested for their self-sealing abilities and crash resistance. The bladders are shot with up to .50 caliber ammunition on Amfuel’s onsite shooting range and dropped from up to 65ft on their testing platform to ensure there are no leaks before the bladders are placed in the aircraft. It may seem like fun and games shooting and dropping the bladders, but the tests come with very real-world consequences according to Dr. Adam Garfein, an advisor for Amfuel.

“It allows the occupants to escape, it allows rescue personnel to get there, and we’ve had stories of Special Forces, where the bags didn’t burst when in a war zone, and they were able to go in and rescue the crew,” Garfein says. “Then in the event that you’re fine but you’re shot, they self-seal, the intention is to be able to get back to a safe landing zone.”

Sky isn’t the limit

When the new ownership bought Amfuel in 2018, the company was producing about one CH-53K fuel bladder every quarter and the helicopter needs four bladders to fly. At the moment, Amfuel is producing 12 CH-53K bladders a month and has outpaced Sikorsky’s production of the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, but continuing to create jobs for the south Arkansas economy. While the dedication to the CH-53K has helped turn around Amfuel in the present, Accordino believes their future will feature more than just aircraft as he laid out their upcoming plans.

“Look to other aircraft aviation platforms we’re not currently on that we’d like to be on, we also received the first ground vehicle contract we’ve received in decades,” Accordino says. “We used to have a business called Liquid Logistics that uses the same rubber manufacturing know-how, tooling, and equipment systems to build other bladders, tanks for the military as well as commercial for non-aviation purposes like pillow tanks, onion tanks, embankment tanks, and towable drums. These are rubber bladders with different attributes and we’re seeking to expand that business to what it once was, so that’s part of the growth plan going forward.”

American Fuel Cell and Coated Fabrics (Amfuel) https://www.amfuel.com

About the author: Jake Kauffman is managing editor with GIE Media’s Manufacturing Group. He can be reached at JKauffman@gie.net or 216.393.2017.