The C-17: Costs and Alternatives
Abstract
The C-17 is an airlift aircraft that is designed to carry all types of cargo over intercontinental distances without refueling. It has features that other airlift aircraft do not provide, and the Air Force intends to use the C-17 to augment its fleet of C-141s and C-130s. The C-17 program has had problems almost since its development phase began in 1981. It has had difficulty meeting the three major criteria against which all acquisition programs are judged-cost, schedule, and technical performance. For example, estimates of the program's costs have grown by nearly $19 billion, or 47 percent, since its inception, excluding the effects of changes in both quantity and expected inflation. And future cost growth may be even greater. Acquisition costs for the program &and expected to total about $40 billion, which is close to the original estimate, but that amount will pay for 120 aircraft instead of the original goal of 210. In addition, the program schedule has slipped so that production will end in 2001 instead of 1998 as originally planned.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA453771
Entities
People
- Victoria Fraider
- William Myers
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office