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 1994-01-10 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:NSIAD-94-99 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-99 P0b002ee18038b39c f:ns94099 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-99 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-99 NSIAD-94-99 Operations analysis Defense operations Testing Bomber aircraft Defense contingency planning Defense capabilities Air defense systems Tactical air forces Advanced weapons systems B-52H Aircraft B-1B Aircraft B-52 Aircraft B-2 Aircraft Desert Storm Letter Report NSIAD The Defense Department (DOD) is required to assess the effectiveness of the B-52H and B-1B bombers in conventional missions and to report on its ability to flight-test these bombers against a variety of current and future threats. GAO found that DOD's plan offers little insight into how the key issues involving the B-1B will be addressed. According to the plan, the effectiveness of heavy bombers in conventional warfare will depend on mission planning and the ability of the bombers to deploy, perform long-duration sorties, penetrate air defenses, and employ conventional weapons. Pentagon officials made a conscious decision to not include all the detail necessary to address the key issues raised in the plan about the B-1B. They view the plan as a top-level guidance document in which more detail would have been inappropriate. GAO believes that of the key issues identified in the plan, deployability is particularly critical. Resolving this issue would allow more-informed decisions on upgrading the B-1B bomber and defining future conventional roles of the B-52 and the B-2 aircraft. The plan concludes that although DOD can design realistic flight tests to determine the survivability and the operational effectiveness of proposed modifications to the B-1B and the B-52H aircraft, the design will not duplicate all known threats. DOD attributes this limitation to the lack of advanced threat air defense systems in the test resources inventory and to the vast number of possible threat postures and configurations. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-99/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-99.htm GAO/NSIAD-94-99 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-94-99 Letter Report GAO/NSIAD-94-99; Air Force: Assessment of DOD's Report on Plan and Capabilities for Evaluating Heavy Bombers; Operations analysis Defense operations Testing Bomber aircraft Defense contingency planning Defense capabilities Air defense systems Tactical air forces Advanced weapons systems B-52H Aircraft B-1B Aircraft B-52 Aircraft B-2 Aircraft Desert Storm