Requirements and Production Capabilities Are Uncertain for Some Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps Aircraft Spares and Repair Parts

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the processes used by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps to develop their fiscal year (FY) 1982 budgets for aircraft spares and repair parts, the subsequent procurement plans for these items, and the adequacy of management information systems to address the problems associated with these items.

Many of the problems previously reported by GAO still exist. The Air Force and Navy procurement plans for aircraft spares and repair parts included in the FY 1982 budget have changed because the requirements on which they were based have fluctuated. To more realistically determine war reserve requirements for aircraft spares and repair parts, the Air Force is developing a computer model, the wartime and assessment requirements simulation (WARS). The Air Force has revised its procurement plans on the basis of the interim model, and original cost requirements for eight C-5A items GAO reviewed were reduced. A number of deficiencies recently identified in Air Force and Navy programs for managing problem items occurred because the programs were using inaccurate data which did not always include all problem items. The remedial actions taken were frequently ineffective in addressing production-related causes. Delinquent deliveries of aircraft spares and repair parts have increased and have become a significant problem affecting the operational readiness of Air Force aircraft. Delinquent deliveries may also be a significant problem for the Navy; however, the Navy does not track and analyze delinquent contracts, and data required to do so have not been obtained or updated. Both the Air Force and the Navy have some remedial actions planned to deal with the delinquency problem. GAO believes that, until the underlying systemic shortcomings in the requirements determination processes are corrected, the total annual budgets for aircraft will remain questionable.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Martin M. Ferber Team: General Accounting Office: National Security and International Affairs Division Phone: (202) 275-4032