AV-8B Program

In 1990, the Navy embarked on a $401 million program to add radar to the AV-8B aircraft. To buy these radar systems, the Navy sold two AV-8B aircraft to Italy from Defense Department stocks--a practice that constitutes an unauthorized use of foreign military proceeds. The Navy also sold three AV-8Bs to Italy, with Italy assuming the responsibility to buy these aircraft that the Navy already had under contract. This sale freed up appropriated funds that were used to buy the radar. The upshot of these sales is that the Marine Corps will have five fewer aircraft than Congress had appropriated funds to purchase. Although the Navy was repeatedly late in providing funds on the AV-8B radar contract, it did not violate the Anti-Deficiency Act because contract provisions were written essentially to preclude an unfunded liability situation.

GAO found that the Navy: (1) purchased no additional aircraft as replacements for the two TAV-8B aircraft and three AV-8B aircraft that it sold to Italy; (2) used the sale proceeds from the TAV-8B aircraft to finance its acquisition of radar for AV-8B aircraft; (3) repeatedly missed scheduled funding dates but did not violate the Anti-Deficiency Act; and (4) requested appropriations for 24 aircraft, even though it had long planned to sell 3 of the aircraft and use those funds to buy radar.

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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