The Air Force had more Nunn-McCurdy breaches in its acquisition programs than any other service between 1997 and 2009, according to the Government Accountability Office. There were 74 Nunn-McCurdy breaches involving 47 major defense acquisition programs during that period, states a GAO report issued Tuesday. Twenty-seven of those breaches (36 percent) involved Air Force programs. Some USAF projects had multiple infractions. For example, the Space Based Infrared System satellite had four breaches, while the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program had three. The Army accounted for 19 of the breaches (26 percent), the Navy for 17 (23 percent), and joint Defense Department programs for 11 (15 percent), according to GAO. “Aircraft, satellite, and helicopter programs have experienced the largest number of breaches,” stated the report. The primary reason for most breaches had to do with engineering and design issues, schedule issues, and quantity changes, said GAO. (GAO report)
In order to deny China “sanctuaries” from which it can launch air and missile salvos during a potential invasion of Taiwan, the U.S. Air Force needs to buy far more B-21 bombers and F-47 fighters than currently planned, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
