Air Force Bombers: Options to Retire or Restructure the Force Would Reduce Planned Spending.
Abstract
This report discusses the basis for the Department of Defense's bomber force requirements and options for reducing planned spending on bombers. The information in this report should be useful to your Committee in its deliberations on future budget levels for the Department of Defense. Although bombers currently in the force were initially designed and procured primarily to meet nuclear war-fighting requirements, since the end of the Cold War the Department of Defense (DOD) has placed increased emphasis on the role of bombers in future conventional conflicts. In recent years, the Congress has expressed numerous concerns about the size and capabilities of the planned bomber force and the long-term affordability of DOD's plans to maintain and modernize airpower assets, including the bomber force. In response to a request from the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, GAO assessed (1) the basis for DOD's bomber force requirements, including an analysis of recent DOD and Air Force studies supporting the planned force structure; (2) the Air Force's progress in implementing the new conventional concept of operations for using bombers; and (3) the costs to keep bombers in the force and enhance their conventional capabilities. As part of this work, GAO also identified and assessed the potential cost savings and effects on military capability of four alternatives for reducing bomber costs, including retiring or reducing the B-1B force, and examined information related to the issue of procuring additional B-2s.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA317744
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office