Summary

There is a need to reduce the number of F-14 and F-15 aircraft the Department of Defense (DOD) plans to procure. Concern is based on inconsistent and imprecise criteria to forecast requirements for support aircraft. The Defense Audit Service similarly concluded that the number of F-14s and F-15s needed for training, peacetime attrition, and substitution for aircraft undergoing overhaul were overstated. Current work on reducing DOD aircraft time in maintenance further demonstrates the necessity to reevaluate aircraft needs for depot maintenance floats.

The review focused on the potential procurement of 61 A-10 aircraft as substitutes for aircraft undergoing depot maintenance. Even though the A-10 is being procured under a concept designed to eliminate the need for depot overhaul, the Air Force is still using a 10-percent factor to justify the purchase of 61 A-10 aircraft for maintenance float purchases. While Air Force criteria also allow substitutes for aircraft undergoing modifications, the full extent of the modification program for the A-10 is not known. In developing the 10-percent maintenance float factor, DOD has not systematically determined how quickly aircraft in the depot could be "buttoned up" and returned to their units under a wartime compressed work schedule and the influence of this rapid return on the requirements for maintenance float aircraft. Current Air Force planning documents show that, in addition to the A-10 and F-15, substitutes for the F-16 aircraft are scheduled for procurement. Therefore, the type of analysis suggested could apply to these aircraft as well.