Pentagon lacks big picture for fighter jet procurement, watchdog says

A federal watchdog wants to make sure the U.S. military is getting the best bang for its buck when buying new aircraft.

The Pentagon plans to spend about $100 billion in the next five years to modernize its tactical aviation fleets — that is, fighter jets, attack planes and electronic warfare platforms. But the military should look at those plans holistically to avoid wasting money and duplicating effort, the Government Accountability Office argued in a report published Tuesday.

“Without an analysis of the tactical aircraft platform portfolio and a requirement to report underlying information externally, DOD and Congress will continue to have limited information when making major investment decisions,” GAO said.

That lack of transparency threatens to make the fiscal 2024 budget less effective than it otherwise might be, the researchers warned. Poorly informed decisions now could jeopardize U.S. troops in a potential fight against another advanced military like those of Russia or China.

The Defense Department responded that it plans to study its overall tactical portfolio within the next “one to two fiscal years.” But the department pushed back on the suggestion to provide that data to Congress, saying it’s internal information that may not reflect their final decision.

Most of the tactical aviation enterprise falls under the Air Force, but the Navy and Marine Corps boast sizable fleets as well. That includes the Air Force’s A-10C, F-15, F-16, F-22A and F-35A; the Navy’s F/A-18E/F, EA-18G and F-35C; and the Marine Corps’ AV-8B, F/A-18A-D and F-35B.

Many of those aircraft have been in service for at least 30 years and are past their recommended lifespan. Still, the platforms are key to securing territory in times of war — a lesson highlighted by the Russian air force’s failures in Ukraine over the past 10 months.

“Tactical air forces are critical to achieving and maintaining air dominance during combat operations,” GAO wrote. “These aircraft often operate during the first days of a conflict to penetrate enemy air space [and] defeat air defenses.”

Once tactical air units control the skies, other ground, air and naval troops can more safely begin their own missions.

Air Force officials have said at least 2,100 tactical aircraft would be sufficient to meet future needs, and the Navy and Marine Corps are pushing for nearly 1,200 of their own.

To hit those goals, the services planned to buy thousands of cutting-edge jets like the F-35. But testing delays and technical problems have forced the military to meet demand by instead keeping older airframes around longer.

Lackluster mission-capable rates — how often an aircraft can fly and perform at least one of its core missions — plus supply chain issues and other factors that drive up the cost of maintaining these complex, aging planes have made that a dicier proposition.

“Studies found that existing aircraft did not have the capabilities needed to compete in future combat scenarios, and some noted the need to invest in advanced technologies,” GAO wrote.

Several pointed to capability and capacity issues that could hinder the military’s air response in a crisis. GAO warned those could continue without more well-rounded, forward-looking plans.

In the meantime, Congress is becoming more amenable to the Pentagon’s proposals to retire hundreds of its oldest, least-relevant airframes.

That can lead to a more lethal force, GAO said, but only with the right investments in research and development.

It’s “a delicate balance and is a decision that should be made with the most detailed information,” according to the report.

“The lack of an integrated acquisition portfolio review of tactical aircraft platforms leaves DOD and Congress with limited insight into interdependencies, risks and related trade-offs among some of DOD’s highest priority and most expensive investments,” GAO said.

Rachel Cohen is the editor of Air Force Times. She joined the publication as its senior reporter in March 2021. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Frederick News-Post (Md.), Air and Space Forces Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy and elsewhere.

联邦监督机构希望确保美国军方在购买新飞机时能够物尽其用。

五角大楼计划在未来五年内投入约1000亿美元用于战术航空机队的现代化改造，包括战斗机、攻击机和电子战平台。但美国政府问责局在周二发布的一份报告中指出，军方应该从整体上审视这些计划，以避免浪费资金和重复劳动。

“如果没有对战术飞机平台组合进行分析，也没有要求对外报告相关信息，国防部和国会在做出重大投资决策时仍将面临信息不足的问题，”美国政府问责局表示。

研究人员警告说，缺乏透明度可能会降低2024财年预算的有效性。如今信息不足的决策可能会在与俄罗斯或中国等拥有先进军事力量的国家发生潜在冲突时危及美军的安全。

国防部回应称，计划在未来一到两个财政年度内对其整体战术组合进行研究。但国防部拒绝向国会提供相关数据，称这是内部信息，可能无法反映其最终决定。

大部分战术航空力量都归空军所有，但海军和海军陆战队也拥有相当规模的机队。其中包括空军的A-10C、F-15、F-16、F-22A和F-35A；海军的F/A-18E/F、EA-18G和F-35C；以及海军陆战队的AV-8B、F/A-18A-D和F-35B。

这些飞机中许多已经服役至少30年，早已超过建议使用寿命。然而，这些平台在战时对于确保领土安全至关重要——俄罗斯空军过去10个月在乌克兰的失败就凸显了这一点。

美国政府问责局（GAO）指出：“战术空军对于在作战行动中取得和维持空中优势至关重要。这些飞机通常在冲突初期执行任务，以突破敌方空域并击穿防空系统。”

一旦战术空军部队控制了制空权，其他地面、空中和海军部队就可以更安全地开始执行自己的任务。

空军官员表示，至少 2100 架战术飞机足以满足未来的需求，而海军和海军陆战队则正在争取近 1200 架。

为了实现这些目标，各军种计划采购数千架像F-35这样的尖端战机。但测试延误和技术问题迫使军方不得不通过延长老旧机型的服役时间来满足需求。

任务执行率（飞机能够飞行并执行至少一项核心任务的频率）不尽如人意，加上供应链问题和其他推高维护这些复杂老旧飞机成本的因素，使得这项提议变得更加冒险。

“研究发现，现有飞机不具备在未来作战场景中竞争所需的能力，一些研究还指出需要投资先进技术，”美国政府问责局 (GAO) 写道。

一些人指出，能力和容量问题可能会阻碍军方在危机中的空中反应。美国政府问责局警告说，如果没有更全面、更具前瞻性的计划，这些问题可能会持续存在。

与此同时，国会越来越倾向于接受五角大楼提出的退役数百架最老旧、最不相关的飞机的提议。

美国政府问责局表示，这可能会导致更致命的武力，但这只有在研发方面进行适当投资的情况下才能实现。

报告称，这是一个“微妙的平衡，应该在掌握最详细信息的情况下做出决定”。

“由于缺乏对战术飞机平台的综合采购组合审查，国防部和国会对国防部一些最高优先级和最昂贵投资之间的相互依存关系、风险和相关权衡的了解有限，”美国政府问责局表示。

瑞秋·科恩是《空军时报》的编辑。她于2021年3月加入该刊物，担任高级记者。她的作品曾发表在《华盛顿邮报》、《弗雷德里克新闻邮报》（马里兰州）、《空军与太空部队杂志》、《国防内幕》、《卫生政策内幕》等刊物上。