Publisher's Synopsis
United States Air Force aircraft currently average 30 years old. As this aircraft fleet continues to age, the cost of corrosion maintenance, both in terms of dollars spent and lost operational readiness, increases correspondingly. Corrosion maintenance cost the Air Force over $1.5 billion in 2004, and trends show that number quickly rising, as it cost only $800 million in 1998. These rising costs must be reversed before Air Force operations suffer serious detrimental effects. Nanotechnology offers one possible solution for creating new revolutionary anticorrosion coatings capable of adapting to environmental damage and conditions.
