Structural maintainers provide backbone of RPAs
Senior Airman Joshua, 432nd Maintenance Squadron aircraft structural maintenance journeyman paints a panel for the MQ-9 Reaper Feb. 18, 2016, at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. Aircraft structural maintenance at Creech AFB, because of the composite structure of the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, is a very tedious job. During the repair process even if one layer of carbon fiber, Kevlar, or fiberglass is improperly bonded, it could result in a mistake that still renders the aircraft unable to fly, making the shop start the process over from scratch. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christian Clausen/Released)