Electronic Warfare

Reliable Equipment Needed to Test Air Force's Electronic Warfare Systems Gao ID: NSIAD-89-137 August 11, 1989

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Air Force's ability to detect faulty components and system malfunctions in electronic warfare systems to perform needed repairs, focusing on major radar warning receivers, jammers, and test equipment planned for use in Air Force tactical aircraft.

GAO found that: (1) electronic warfare test equipment was unreliable and did not effectively identify system malfunctions and faulty components; (2) almost half of the 455 jammers that the Air Force considered operationally ready for combat missions had undetected deficiencies while installed; (3) the test equipment that Air Force technicians used to identify malfunctions was unreliable and contributed to long repair times, which could negatively affect combat readiness; (4) the Air Force relied extensively on contractor support to keep its electronic warfare systems operational; (5) the Air Force did not comply with its deployment policies for the test equipment; (6) the Air Force consistently produced and deployed electronic warfare systems before testing maintainability under operational conditions; and (7) the Air Force procured test equipment before testing its capability.

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.

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