Electronic Warfare: No Air Force Follow-Up on Test Equipment Inadequacies
Abstract
In August 1989, we reported that faulty and unreliable test equipment used in maintaining electronic warfare systems had impaired the combat readiness of the Air Force's tactical aircraft and the capability to sustain combat operations. We found that many of the electronic warfare systems considered by the Air Force to be combat ready actually had undetected faults because of unreliable built-in test equipment. We also reported that inadequate test equipment used in diagnosing faults in electronic warfare systems was contributing to repair times far longer than required to support combat operations. We recommended action to strengthen the Air Force's maintenance capability. The executive summary from our August 1989 report describing our findings and recommendation is reprinted in appendix I. The Department of Defense (DOD) responded to our August 1989 report by letter, dated March 25, 1991, after we had initiated work on this assignment. DOD officials told us that the reason for the delay in responding was the difficulty encountered in developing a unified position on the issues discussed in our report.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA239777
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office