That is fine. We want as many people as possible be skeptical of the idea of low radar observability.
Aaahhh...Wrong.
Each panel have torque ratings for its fasteners. For the maintenance folks, there are three levels of workers: 3, 5, and 7.
The 3-level worker is someone who is fresh out of tech school and needs constant supervision while on the job, whether the job is on the flightline or not. The 3-level worker is
NOT authorized to sign off
ANY discrepancy.
The 5-level worker is someone who has at least 1 yr experience in the career field and is approved to work unsupervised. The 5-level worker is
NOT authorized to sign off a major discrepancy, only
MINOR discrepancies that does not affect flight status.
The 7-level worker is someone who has more experience and is allowed to sign off
ALL discrepancies associated to his specialty.
When a panel is opened, the aircraft is immediately rendered non-flyable and that panel must be documented in its record.
Now...Just in case anyone thinks I make this shit up...
http://www.tinker.af.mil/Portals/106/Documents/AFD-160427-007.pdf
An opened panel is a 'Red X' item and by extension
EVERY FASTENER on that panel is also a 'Red X' item under the same entry.
Once a panel is closed and all fasteners secured. Only a 7-level worker -- usually also a supervisor -- is allowed to sign off that Red X entry. If that Red X entry is the only major discrepancy, the jet is cleared for flight status. But if there are multiple major discrepancies,
ALL must be cleared by appropriate levels of workers before the jet is finally cleared for flight status. This also means an avionics 7-level cannot sign off an engine change. If necessary, an engine 7-level from another squadron will be called, or the squadron must call back on duty its own engine 7-level to sign off that engine change.
If a panel is allowed to fly with a couple of panel fasteners protrude by 1/8th of an inch, and that condition was discovered by post flight inspection, these are the actions that
WILL happen...
1- The jet will be immediately grounded.
2- The jet's aircraft form will be confiscated, along with all maintenance records such as logs and parts ordered forms if any.
3- Anyone who worked on that particular jet will be immediately de-cert, pending investigation closure.
4- The 7-level who signed off that panel will be disciplined, up to complete decertification of his specialty, meaning he will be a 3-level worker again. His rank/grade will not be affected, but his service record will be noted which means he can pretty much wave goodbye any chance of promotion. Essentially, he put an aircrew at risk.
5- Any lower level of worker who had anything to do with that panel may also suffer the same fate as the 7-level.
6- The crew chief and assistant crew chief(s) assigned to that jet will be removed from the jet. Essentially, they will be manual laborers when anyone needed them. A 7-level crew chief is allowed to sign off that panel that was opened by an avionics specialist. The crew chief(s) are supposed to literally put hands on that panel to make sure all fasteners are flushed to surface. If 20 panels were opened, they are supposed to put hands on those 20 panels, make sure 20 Red X entries existed, and 20 signatures associated to sign-offs.
7- The end-of-runway (EOR) crew will be disciplined because they are the final checkpoint before the jet takes off. If necessary, the entire crew will be de-certed.
8- The maintenance officer will be investigated as to his capability to monitor his people and enforce compliance.
A panel may have an exception attached as to how many fasteners are allowed to be missing and that exception came from careful study as to security under flight stress. The missing fasteners cannot be in series and limited in how many are allowed to be absent. But if a fastener is installed, it must be flushed, not protruding.
For example...
So your statement that implied 'a couple of loose fasteners are fine' maybe acceptable in other air forces, but not ours. Not in peace time, anyway.
Other air forces maybe deterred. But not US. That is why other air forces fears US.
True, radar technologies have gotten better. But so do 'stealth' designs and how to use them in combat. We have radars and 'stealth' aircrafts to test them against each other. Others...???