Strategic Bomber

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has refocused its national security strategy from one of deterring the Soviet nuclear threat to one emphasizing conventional fighting capabilities. Air Force efforts to adapt B-1B strategic bombers, once the backbone of the U.S. nuclear force, for combat missions in conventional warfare have fallen short, however. Despite plans to modify 60 of 95 B-1B bombers, the Air Force has only 40 B-1Bs capable of flying conventional missions, a number that is not expected to increase significantly during the next decade. Further, although the Air Force requires 29 of its 65 spare B-1B engines to be serviceable at any given time to keep the planes in operation, only five were serviceable as of September 1993--an especially troubling situation given the susceptibility of the B-1B engines to ice damage. Structural cracks in the aircraft are also a continuing problem

GAO found that: (1) although the Air Force planned to have 60 of the 95 B-1B aircraft capable of performing combat missions, only 40 B-1B aircraft were ready for combat as of September 1993; (2) although the Air Force requires that 29 of its 65 spare B-1B engines be serviceable at any given time, only 5 engines were serviceable in September 1993; (3) the operational readiness test required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 provides the best basis for measuring the deployability of B-1B aircraft; (4) ice damage to B-1B engines and the structural cracks found on the aircraft are detriments to achieving increased aircraft availability; (5) the Air Force believes that its attempt to repair cracks on B-1B aircraft will be successful and that major structural modifications will not be necessary; and (6) the Air Force has not determined the cost to repair B-1B structural cracks, but it expects to complete its investigation of the problem in April 1994.