Joint Strike Fighter Acquisition: Development Schedule Should Be Changed to Reduce Risks
Abstract
The Joint Strike Fighter Program is intended to produce an affordable, next-generation aircraft to replace the Department of Defense's (DOD) aging aircraft inventory. The first aircraft deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2008. As currently planned, the program will cost about $200 billion to develop and procure over 3,000 aircraft and related support equipment for the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Navy, and Great Britain. DOD has designated the Joint Strike Fighter Program as a flagship program for acquisition. To date, the program has awarded contracts totaling over $2 billion to Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the current concept demonstration phase. Under these contracts, both contractors will build the aircraft they plan to fly in the demonstration phase and also design the aircraft they plan to build in the next phase of the development program engineering and manufacturing development. During engineering and manufacturing development, the Joint Strike Fighter will be fully developed, engineered, designed, fabricated, tested, and evaluated to demonstrate that the production aircraft will meet stated requirements. DOD is scheduled to award the contract for engineering and manufacturing development to either Boeing or Lockheed Martin in April 2001.1 At your request, we reviewed the Joint Strike Fighter Program to (1) provide information on the acquisition strategy and (2) to determine whether the strategy is being implemented in a manner that will ensure that the acquisition strategy objectives will be achieved. The General accounting Office discussed a draft of this report during a March 16, 2000 joint hearing by the Subcommittees on Military Procurement and on Military Research and Development, House Committee on Armed Services. At the time of the hearing. GAO had not received DOD's comments on our report. This report contains DOD's comments and GAO's evaluation of these
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA376878
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office