Defense Acquisitions; Strategic Airlift Gap Has Been Addressed, but Tactical Airlift Plans Are Evolving as Key Issues Have Not Been Resolved

Abstract

DOD uses a variety of aircraft to move weapons, equipment, and troops from the United States to and within theaters of operation. C-5s and C-17s are used for strategic airlift. They carry weapons and equipment too large for any other DOD aircraft from the United States to staging locations throughout the world. The family of C-130 aircraft, which includes the C-130E, C-130H, and C-130J aircraft, is then the primary asset used to move weapons, equipment, and troops within a theater of operation.3 The C-17 is dually capable of performing both strategic and tactical airlift missions and supplements the C-130 for tactical airlift. All of these aircraft are owned and operated by the Air Force and are considered part of the common user pool of aircraft that can be used to support any of the services- missions. DOD also relies on the Air Force's aerial refueling tankers (KC-10 and KC-135), commercial aircraft, and leased aircraft to supplement airlift capabilities. Officials at the U.S. Transportation Command and its Air Force component, the Air Mobility Command, decide on how best to use the assets on a daily basis. Often, these aircraft are scheduled for departure when they have a full load, to ensure assets are used cost-effectively. The services may also use their own airplanes and helicopters that are not in the common user pool to move people and cargo within a theater of operation. For example, these assets include the Army?s C-23 Sherpas and the Marine Corps' V-22 Osprey aircraft. These aircraft are used to perform time-sensitive, mission-critical requirements and may take off without full loads since urgency is the primary driver for the mission, not efficiency or cost-effectiveness.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA510426

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Congress
  • Employment
  • Law
  • Logistics
  • Military Acquisition
  • National Security
  • Short Takeoff Aircraft
  • Tanker Aircraft
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Tilt Rotor Aircraft
  • Transport Aircraft
  • United States Government
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace Test and Evaluation
  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.