United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-08-29 monographic deposited born digital 38 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-00-165 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-165 P0b002ee1803a38db f:ns00165 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-165 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-165 NSIAD-00-165 Weapons systems Defense procurement Military cost control Military aircraft Defense capabilities B-1B Aircraft C-17 Aircraft C-5 Aircraft F-16 Aircraft Joint Strike Fighter F-22 Aircraft DOD Joint Primary Aircraft Training System Air Force Reduction in Total Ownership Cost Program B-52 Aircraft KC-135 Aircraft F-15 Aircraft A-10 Aircraft T-37B Aircraft Letter Report NSIAD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to reduce the Air Force's operating and support costs, focusing on: (1) operating and support cost trends; (2) cost reduction initiatives; and (3) factors influencing the success of cost reduction efforts.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) Air Force operating and support costs are growing at about 4 percent per year, even though the total number of aircraft, the number of hours these aircraft are flown, and the number of personnel who fly and maintain them have been declining for years; (2) from fiscal year (FY) 1997 to FY 1999, operating and support costs for aircraft increased from about $15.3 billion to $16.6 billion; (3) higher costs for repair parts were the principal cause of these increasing costs, and about 25 fault-prone parts on each system GAO examined were the biggest cost drivers; (4) to help reduce the operating and support costs of fielded systems, the Air Force has established several initiatives, including the Reduction in Total Ownership Cost program; (5) under this program, the Air Force developed a standardized methodology for assessing operating and support costs, identifying likely areas for cost reduction, proposing cost reduction projects, and tracking associated savings; (6) initially applied to several pilot programs in 1999, including the F-16 and B-1B, the program is now being expanded to other systems, as experience with the pilots increases; (7) however, the projected cost reductions from these efforts average only about $343 million each year, well short of the $2.6 billion to $7 billion needed to achieve DOD's goals; (8) several factors hinder greater operating and support cost reductions; (9) the Air Force does not give operating and support cost management the same high priority it assigns to other program concerns such as weapon performance during system development or improved combat capability after fielding; (10) instead of establishing an operating and support cost requirement and managing to meet it, new programs focus on initiatives to improve reliability, supportability, and maintainability; (11) although these initiatives do help lower operating costs, their impact on a system's operating and support costs is not tracked; (12) projects that could lower these costs in fielded systems cannot complete effectively for funding against projects that enhance safety, readiness, or combat capability; (13) because they are not given the same management priority, operating and support costs are not emphasized; (14) poor visibility of operating and support costs has been a key factor inhibiting management of operating costs, but the establishment of the new Air Force Total Ownership Cost data system appears to be overcoming this barrier; and (15) despite program managers' limited authority and low incentives, some programs, such as the B-1B, continue to champion cost reduction projects. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-165/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-165.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-165/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-165.pdf GAO/NSIAD-00-165 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-165 Letter Report GAO/NSIAD-00-165; Defense Acquisitions: Air Force Operating and Support Cost; Weapons systems Defense procurement Military cost control Military aircraft Defense capabilities B-1B Aircraft C-17 Aircraft C-5 Aircraft F-16 Aircraft Joint Strike Fighter F-22 Aircraft DOD Joint Primary Aircraft Training System Air Force Reduction in Total Ownership Cost Program B-52 Aircraft KC-135 Aircraft F-15 Aircraft A-10 Aircraft T-37B Aircraft