Air Force Supply

Congress as well as the Air Force have raised concerns about reported spare parts shortages and the possibility that they are causing readiness problems. GAO found that, in recent years, the effectiveness of the supply activity group in meeting the needs of military customers has declined. Major aircraft unfit to fly because of supply problems rose from 6.4 percent in fiscal year 1990 to 13.9 percent in fiscal year 1998, according to the Air Force. GAO reviewed B-1B, F-16, and C-5 aircraft supply problems and found that they were causing inefficient maintenance actions, excessive use of spares designated to support deployed operations, and aircrews to be less than fully trained. GAO also analyzed parts that were most frequently causing supply problems for the B-1B, F-16, and C-5 aircraft. The key reasons contributing to the supply problems were (1) weaknesses in forecasting inventory requirements and executing inventory procurement and repair budgets, (2) not achieving the Agile Logistics program's goals, and (3) untimely repair by depot maintenance activities. The inventory forecasting error caused a $500 million shortfall in funding in the supply activity group's budget in fiscal year 1997. The Air Force cut the group's budget by $948 million between 1997 and 1999 to reflect Agile Logistic's efficiency goals. Because these goals were not achieved, however, fewer items than projected were available for sale to customers. The Air Force is studying ways to improve supply effectiveness and has boosted funding for the purchase and repair of spare parts.

GAO noted that: (1) over the last several years, the effectiveness of the supply activity group in meeting customer needs has declined; (2) key Air Force indicator reports used to monitor supply effectiveness showed that major aircraft not mission capable due to supply problems increased from 6.4 percent in fiscal year (FY) 1990 to 13.9 percent in FY 1998; (3) GAO specifically reviewed B-1B, F-16, and C-5 aircraft supply problems and found that these problems were causing inefficient maintenance actions, excessive use of spares designated to support deployed operations, and aircrews to be not fully trained; (4) for example, at two major commands, significant personnel resources were used to remove parts from B-1B, F-16, and C-5 aircraft and to put those same parts on other aircraft in order to keep them mission capable; (5) while the total magnitude of the problem is not known, records at two Air Force commands showed maintenance personnel time involved in this practice equated to about 43 people working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for 2 years; (6) spares packages purchased to support deployed operations were being used to meet day-to-day operational needs; (7) this was particularly the case for the C-5 and B-1B aircraft where usage of items from the packages increased by 14.2 and 13.5 percent, respectively, over a 2-year period; (8) B-1B and F-16 reports show that only 83 percent of their peacetime flying hour training program was accomplished and Air Force officials cited supply and maintenance problems as major causes; (9) as a result, one squadron reported that some of its aircraft commanders, pilots, and weapons system officers were not combat mission ready; (10) GAO also analyzed selected parts that were most frequently causing supply problems for the B-1B, F-16, and C-5 aircraft; (11) the key reasons contributing to supply problems were: (a) weaknesses in forecasting inventory requirements and executing inventory procurement and repair budgets; (b) not achieving Agile Logistics goals; and (c) untimely repair by depot maintenance activities; (12) the inventory forecasting error caused a $500-million shortfall in funding in the FY 1997 supply activity group's budget; (13) the Air Force also reduced the supply activity group's budget by $948 million between fiscal years 1997 and 1999 to reflect Agile Logistics efficiency goals; (14) however, since these efficiency goals were not achieved, fewer items than projected were available for sale to customers; and (15) the Air Force has studies underway to improve supply effectiveness and has increased funding for the purchase and repair of spares.

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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