Aircraft Development

The Advanced Tactical Fighter's Costs, Schedule, and Performance Goals Gao ID: NSIAD-88-76 January 13, 1988

In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Air Force's development of its Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF), especially its ability to meet the cost, schedule, and performance goals.

GAO found that: (1) the Air Force awarded two contracts to develop and test the prototype aircraft and a separate ground-based avionics prototype; (2) evaluations of these test results will not be available until late 1989; (3) because ATF development includes three separate but interrelated major subsystems, delays in one subsystem's development could require a schedule revision; and (4) the highly integrated avionics of the ATF is dependent upon recent developments in microelectronic circuitry, system design approaches, and system software. GAO also found that: (1) the Air Force plans to purchase 750 ATF at an estimated cost of $64.3 billion and has requested $536.8 million in fiscal year 1988 for the program; (2) the Air Force and the Navy signed a memorandum of understanding on the cross-service use of ATF and the Navy's Advanced Tactical Aircraft (ATA); and (3) if the Navy purchases ATF to replace its F-14 aircraft, it could reduce ATF production costs by over $2 billion and save an estimated $6 to $7 billion in research and development costs.



The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.