Nearly 18 months later, the US rescued a strategic transport plane whose nose was dented in a storm.

A US C-17 transport aircraft damaged in a storm has been repaired using new technology, allowing it to take off again sooner than expected.

Images released by the US Air Force and analyzed by the military aviation website Aviationist on August 9th show strategic transport aircraft C-17, serial number 0194, belonging to the 445th Transport Wing, taking off from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio on its first flight after completing repairs.

This is the same C-17 that was damaged on March 4, 2025, while parked at an airfield in Texas.

The C-17 transport aircraft with tail number 0194 took off from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on July 30th. Photo: USAF

The U.S. Air Force Lifecycle Management Center (AFLCMC) reported that strong winds, large hailstones, and severe thunderstorms sweeping through the Dallas-Fort Worth area caused two Bombardier Challenger passenger planes to collide violently with a C-17, resulting in significant damage to the nose, fuselage, and left door of the aircraft.

Flight 0194 underwent preliminary repairs before flying to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. During this process, the aircraft had to maintain its landing gear deployed. At Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the 445th Maintenance Unit repaired the damaged fuselage and door, but determined that the left nose panel needed replacing.

However, Boeing stated that this panel was unavailable and had to be manufactured new. Worse still, no supplier was willing to invest in the equipment to manufacture a single component for a single aircraft, as the C-17 transport aircraft production line had ceased operations since 2015.

Damage on the C-17 aircraft in the photo posted on August 4th. Photo: USAF

“Following unsuccessful repair attempts, the C-17 will likely remain in storage for at least a year and will require another year to complete the repairs,” the AFLCMC stated.

The 445th Maintenance Unit considered it unacceptable for “one of the nine mission-essential C-17s” of the 445th Air Wing to be grounded for many years, and contacted the U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Support Office (RSO) to find a solution.

The Robotics and Automation (A&R) team at RSO decided that the damaged fuselage panel was the “ideal candidate” for their Step-by-Step Sheet Metal Forming (ISF) system. This is a new robotic technology capable of gradually deforming sheet metal into functional components.

In collaboration with engineers from the University of Dayton Research Institute, A&R began producing the panel for the C-17 transport aircraft in January.

[Image caption: A US C-17 aircraft undergoing repairs. Photo: USAF]

After several stages, Boeing and the 445th Maintenance Unit installed the complete fuselage panel onto the C-17 transport aircraft in July.

“The final repair steps included testing the forward landing gear and some minor adjustments in the nose area. The C-17 returned to the skies on July 30th, continuing to support the essential mission of the 445th Airborne Wing,” AFLCMC stated.

Mary Schuler, head of the A&R program, emphasized that using ISF has shortened repair times from years to just a few months. “This skin is the first component produced using ISF for use on an Air Force aircraft, but it won’t be the last. RSO is also manufacturing components for the KC-135 refueling aircraft and the F-15 fighter,” AFLCMC stated.