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GAO-05-316R 1 (2005-03-14)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptarig0001 and id is 1 raw text is: SGAO Accountability * Integrity Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 March 14, 2005 The Honorable John Warner Chairman The Honorable Carl Levin Ranking Minority Member Committee on Armed Services United States Senate Subject: Air Force Assessment of the Joint Strike Fighter's Aerial Refueling Method The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) acquisition program is estimated to cost $245 billion to develop and produce three variants of stealthy fighter aircraft-a conventional take- off and landing variant for the Air Force, an aircraft carrier variant for the Navy, and a short take-off and vertical landing variant for the Marine Corps and Air Force. A major goal of the JSF program is to reduce costs by maximizing commonality among variants. However, the Air Force conventional variant is being designed with a different aerial refueling method than those used by the two other JSF variants. U.S. fighters use two different methods for aerial refueling. Air Force fixed-wing aircraft are all currently fueled by a boom that extends from a tanker aircraft and is guided into a receptacle. The Navy and Marine Corps fighters use a probe that extends from the fighter to receive fuel when inserted into a drogue, which is a basket-like device on the end of a hose that extends from the tanker. The Senate Armed Services Committee directed that we (1) examine the rationale behind the Air Force refueling decision for its JSF version, (2) determine the savings if the Air Force decided to change its refueling method on its JSF, and (3) determine the operational advantages or disadvantages if the Air Force decided to change its refueling method. This letter summarizes the information we provided committee staff on December 16, 2004. To determine the Air Force rationale for selecting a refueling method that is different from the refueling method for the other variants, we reviewed JSF requirements documents, an evaluation by the JSF contractor of JSF refueling options, and design alternatives for each option. To assess the advantages and disadvantages of each method, we reviewed Air Force assessments of operational lessons learned and mishap reports for aerial refueling missions. To determine whether there were potential savings if the Air Force were to change its refueling, we reviewed an Air Force estimate of savings and the cost of impacts to other assets, such as tankers, to support this change. We also discussed relevant information with program officials from the joint JSF program office, the Air Combat Command, and the Air Mobility GAO-05-316R Joint Strike Fighter Refueling Page 1

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