Furthermore, the Air Force’s projected attrition rates were not consistent with historical attrition experience with its existing primary trainer, and the Navy used a rate that differs from the rate that DOD now says is accurate. Until these inconsistencies are resolved, it is unclear how many JPATS aircraft should be procured. For example, the Navy’s calculations in 1996 used an attrition rate of 1.5 aircraft per 100,000 flight hours to calculate the required quantity of JPATS aircraft. According to the procurement plan, 18 aircraft are to be procured during fiscal year 1998 and 12 aircraft during fiscal year 1999, resulting in a total of 30 aircraft. For example, as shown in table 3, 30 aircraft can be procured more economically if 16, rather than 18, aircraft are procured in fiscal year 1998 and 14, rather than 12, aircraft are procured in fiscal year 1999. JPATS Aircraft Is Expected to Meet Female Cockpit Accommodation Requirement

The JPATS cockpit is expected to meet DOD’s requirement that it accommodate at least 80 percent of the eligible female pilot population. JPATS program officials estimate that the planned cockpit dimensions will accommodate approximately 97 percent of the eligible female population anthropometrically. The minimum design weight of the JPATS ejection seat (116 pounds) will accommodate 80 percent of the eligible female population. Because concerns have been raised about the ability of JPATS aircraft to accommodate female pilots, Congress directed DOD to conduct studies to determine the appropriate percentage of male and female pilots that could be accommodated in the cockpit. Furthermore, DOD’s schedule for procuring the aircraft does not take advantage of the most economical approach that would allow it to save money and permit more time for operational testing. We, therefore, recommend that the Secretary of Defense determine the appropriate attrition rates and mission capable rates to calculate JPATS requirements, taking into account the planned improvements in JPATS safety, reliability, and maintainability, and recalculate the requirements as appropriate and direct the Air Force to revise the JPATS procurement plan to take better advantage of price advantages in the contract, and upon successful completion of operational test and evaluation, acquire JPATS aircraft at the most economical target quantity unit prices provided by the contract. Scope and Methodology

To review service calculations of JPATS requirements, DOD’s procurement schedule for the aircraft, and efforts to design the JPATS cockpit to accommodate female pilots, we interviewed knowledgeable officials and reviewed relevant documentation at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology) and the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington D.C.; the Training Systems Program Office, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; the Air Force Air Education and Training Command, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas; the Navy Chief of Naval Air Training Office, Corpus Christi, Texas; and the Raytheon Aircraft Company, Wichita, Kansas. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO reviewed: (1) the Air Force's and Navy's calculations of the quantity of Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) aircraft needed to meet training requirements; (2) the impact of the Department of Defense's (DOD) procurement schedule on the aircraft's unit price; and (3) service efforts to design the JPATS cockpit to accommodate female pilots.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the Air Force and the Navy used inconsistent data to calculate the number of JPATS aircraft required for primary pilot training; (2) the Air Force used an attrition rate that was twice as high as the historical attrition rate for its existing primary trainer and the Navy used an attrition rate that differs from the rate that DOD now cites as accurate; (3) until inconsistencies in the mission capable rates and attrition rates are resolved, it is unclear how many JPATS aircraft should be procured; (4) DOD's procurement plan for acquiring JPATS aircraft does not take full advantage of the most favorable prices available in the contract; (5) for example, the plan schedules 18 aircraft to be procured during fiscal year (FY) 1998 and 12 aircraft during FY 1999, a total of 30 aircraft; (6) however, GAO found that these 30 aircraft could be procured more economically if 16 rather than 18 aircraft are procured in FY 1998 and 14 rather than 12 aircraft are procured in FY 1999; (7) this approach would save $1.36 million over the 2 fiscal years and permit more operational testing and evaluation to be completed; (8) furthermore, the procurement plan does not schedule a sufficient number of JPATS aircraft for procurement in fiscal year 2000 to achieve lower prices that are available under the terms of the contract; (9) because concerns had been raised about the ability of JPATS aircraft to accommodate female pilots, Congress directed DOD to study and determine the appropriate percentage of the female pilot population that the aircraft should physically accommodate; (10) based on its studies, DOD established the requirement that the JPATS aircraft be able to accommodate 80 percent of the eligible female pilot population; (11) pilot size determines the percentage of pilots that can be accommodated in the JPATS cockpit; (12) planned cockpit dimensions are expected to accommodate about 97 percent of the eligible female pilot population; and (13) to permit safe ejection from the aircraft, the ejection seat minimum pilot weight is 116 pounds, which is expected to accommodate 80 percent of the eligible female pilot population.