MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- When a pilot encounters a problem during his flight, he reports the discrepancy to the maintenance crews in an after-flight debrief. This day, the problem was with the aircraft’s radar system.

The communications navigations section of Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, was tasked Feb. 16, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, to repair the radar system of an F/A-18 Hornet.

A radar system is used to detect range and location of anything that reflects a signal. Radar shoots out a signal that can detect other aircraft up to 150 miles away.

“Radar gives the pilots a view of what is ahead of them,” said Cpl. Edward L. Martinez, communications navigations technician, VMFA(AW)-121. “It’s a helpful tool in combat. It gives pilots the capability to lock on to a target.”

The Marines started their mission not knowing exactly what was wrong with the system. They had to first determine what was wrong before they could repair it.

“We  accomplish our mission using a combination of thorough troubleshooting, systems tests and knowledge of the aircraft,” said Martinez, a 21-year-old native of San Jose, Calif.

Maintenance crews repair aircraft daily to keep the squadron fully functional.

“As a squadron, we have a certain amount of flight hours we must meet monthly and annually,” said Martinez. “The more aircraft we have in the sky the easier that is to achieve.”

The Marines first tested the aircraft to determine what the problem was. They powered the aircraft using a mobile generator to run the aircraft’s testing systems.

“The aircraft can test itself and tell us what is wrong,” said Lance Cpl. Bryon W. Groebner, communications navigations technician, VMFA(AW)-121. “It is similar to the ‘check engine’ light in an automobile.”

After several minutes of testing, the aircrafts system verified the problem to be the radar receiver. The Marines replaced the receiver and ran another test. The test concluded that the problem was again the radar receiver.

“I think it is the antenna,” said Groebner, a 23-year-old native of El Paso, Texas. “Sometimes if one thing is wrong, the test may think the other components are also wrong.”

Martinez said they took parts from a different aircraft with a functioning radar system.

“We borrowed the parts from another bird to help us determine what is wrong with this one,” said Martinez.

The Marines replaced the parts that they suspected to be the problem with parts from another aircraft. Another series of tests determined the problem to be both the antenna and the radar receiver.

The Marines determined the problem using the aircraft’s simple built-in tests and their experience and knowledge of the aircraft.

“We came out here not knowing what was wrong,” concluded Martinez. “The problem is now fixed and we’re done.”