B-2 Facilities

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the design and construction of certain ground support systems at a B-2 bomber production facility, focusing on: (1) the cost of correcting problems in the systems; and (2) whether the contractor misrepresented problems with these systems to the Air Force. GAO found that the: (1) contractor has begun construction of the production facility and installation of the B-2 bomber ground support systems before completing the aircraft's design or establishing procedures to test the aircraft; (2) contractor could have avoided $1.181 million in costs for the installation and improvement of one ineffective system if it had obtained approval of final construction plans before awarding installation subcontracts; (3) costs of modifying other systems have increased due to unanticipated changes in requirements; (4) contractor has informed the Air Force that increased capabilities in the ground support systems are needed because of revised aircraft requirements; (5) Air Force has provided limited oversight of the construction project; (6) Air Force has not challenged the contractor on why systematic problems occur or who is responsible for them, since it is required to bear the costs of facility construction and modification; and (7) Air Force had not accepted delivery of the systems as of October 1993.