Currently,  the Forest Service issues contracts for large and very large airtankers, as  well as large and medium helicopters, and Interior issues contracts for  single-engine airtankers and water scoopers. Agencies’ Efforts to Identify Firefighting Aircraft Needs Have Been Hampered by Limited Information and Collaboration

Since 1995, the Forest Service and Interior have cumulatively produced  nine major studies and strategy documents related to their firefighting  aviation needs, but the agencies’ efforts to identify the number and type  of firefighting aircraft needed have been hampered by limited information  and collaboration. While the Forest Service and Interior studies and strategy documents  contained various key elements, none included information on  performance and effectiveness of aircraft in helping to suppress wildland  fires because agencies have not collected such information. This limited availability of information on the performance and  effectiveness of firefighting aircraft is an area of long-standing concern;  since the 1960s, multiple reviews of federal fire aviation programs have  called for the Forest Service and Interior to collect information on the  performance of firefighting aircraft but neither agency has taken action  until recently. Many Forest Service and Interior officials, as well as other stakeholders,  we spoke with expressed concerns about limited collaboration, and many  cited shortcomings with the formal mechanism for interagency  collaboration—the National Interagency Aviation Committee, which  includes representatives from the Forest Service, Interior and its bureaus,  and the National Association of State Foresters. Specifically, the committee’s members have defined and articulated a  common purpose and have agreed on agency roles and responsibilities. Although the  committee has implemented some leading practices for collaboration, it  has not taken additional steps to reinforce agency accountability for  collaboration, such as developing mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and  report the results of collaborative efforts. The Forest Service’s Approach to Modernizing the Large Airtanker Fleet Faces Challenges, Resulting in Uncertainty over Continued Large Airtanker Availability

The Forest Service plans to modernize the large airtanker fleet by  obtaining large airtankers from various sources over the near, medium,  and long terms, but each component of this approach faces challenges  that make the continued availability of such aircraft to meet national fire  suppression needs uncertain. The components of the agency’s approach  include: (1) in the near term, continuing to contract with private vendors  for “legacy” large airtankers—generally aging aircraft with limited future  service life spans—on exclusive-use contracts and very large airtankers  on call-when-needed contracts, as well as relying on agreements with  cooperator governments and the military; (2) in the medium term,  contracting with vendors for airtankers that are more modern and capable  than those generally in use currently; and (3) in the long term, acquiring  new federally-owned aircraft with expected service life spans of up to 30  years. However, agency officials and vendor representatives told us about  limitations and challenges—including availability, performance, and  cost—regarding these resources. As a result, it is uncertain when the “next-generation” large  airtankers will be available to support fire suppression activities. Interior has  no current plans to collect performance information on the aircraft it  manages. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help the agencies enhance their abilities to identify their firefighting  aircraft needs and better ensure they obtain aircraft that meet those  needs, we recommend that the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior  direct the Chief of the Forest Service and the Deputy Assistant Secretary  for Public Safety, Resource Protection, and Emergency Services,  respectively, to take the following three actions:
Expand efforts to collect information on aircraft performance and  effectiveness to include all types of firefighting aircraft in the federal  fleet;
Enhance collaboration between the agencies and with stakeholders in  the fire aviation community to help ensure that agency efforts to  identify the number and type of firefighting aircraft they need reflect  the input of all stakeholders in the fire aviation community; and
Subsequent to the completion of the first two recommendations,  update the agencies’ strategy documents for providing a national  firefighting aircraft fleet to include analysis based on information on  aircraft performance and effectiveness and to reflect input from  stakeholders throughout the fire aviation community. The  Department of Defense did not provide comments. We also note, however, that the agency may face  challenges regarding the retardant capacity and operating costs  associated with the airtankers. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report examines (1) Forest Service and Department of the Interior  efforts undertaken to identify the number and type of firefighting aircraft  they need and (2) the Forest Service’s approach to modernizing the large  airtanker fleet and the challenges it faces in doing so. To examine Forest Service and Interior efforts to identify their firefighting  aircraft needs, we reviewed major agency studies and strategy  documents and interviewed agency officials responsible for managing fire  aviation programs.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Forest Service and Interior contract for aircraft to perform various firefighting functions, including airtankers that drop retardant. The Forest Service contracts for large airtankers and certain other aircraft, while Interior contracts for smaller airtankers and water scoopers. However, a decrease in the number of large airtankers, from 44 in 2002 to 8 in early 2013--due to aging planes and several fatal crashes--has led to concerns about the agencies' ability to provide aerial firefighting support.
GAO was asked to review agency efforts to ensure the adequacy of the firefighting aircraft fleet. This report examines (1) Forest Service and Interior efforts to identify the number and type of firefighting aircraft they need and (2) the Forest Service's approach to modernizing the large airtanker fleet and the challenges it faces in doing so. GAO reviewed agency studies and strategies, assessing the extent to which they included key elements important for understanding fire aviation needs; reviewed large airtanker planning and acquisition documents; and interviewed agency officials and representatives of the fire aviation community selected to represent state agencies, aircraft vendors, and others.

What GAO Found

The Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and the Department of the Interior have undertaken nine major efforts since 1995 to identify the number and type of firefighting aircraft they need, but those efforts--consisting of major studies and strategy documents--have been hampered by limited information and collaboration. Specifically, the studies and strategy documents did not incorporate information on the performance and effectiveness of firefighting aircraft, primarily because neither agency collected such data. While government reports have long called for the Forest Service and Interior to collect aircraft performance information, neither agency did so until 2012 when the Forest Service began a data collection effort. However, the Forest Service has collected limited data on large airtankers and no other aircraft, and Interior has not initiated a data collection effort. In addition, although firefighting aircraft are often shared by federal agencies and can be deployed to support firefighting operations on federal and nonfederal lands, the agencies have not consistently collaborated with one another and other stakeholders to identify the firefighting aircraft they need. Many agency officials and stakeholders GAO contacted noted concerns about limited collaboration, and many cited shortcomings with the formal mechanism for collaboration--the National Interagency Aviation Committee. The committee has implemented some leading practices for collaboration such as defining and articulating a common purpose, but it has not taken additional steps to monitor and evaluate its collaborative activities, another leading practice. Collectively, additional information on aircraft performance and effectiveness and collaboration across agencies and with stakeholders could enhance agency estimates of their firefighting aircraft needs to more accurately represent national needs for such aircraft, and as a result, better position the agencies to develop strategic planning documents that represent those needs.
The Forest Service plans to modernize the large airtanker fleet by obtaining large airtankers from various sources over the near, medium, and long term, but each component of this approach faces challenges that make the continued availability of such aircraft to meet national fire suppression needs uncertain. In the near term, the agency plans to rely on a mix of contracted "legacy" airtankers as well as supplemental aircraft available through additional contracts and agreements with other governments and the military. However, agency concerns exist regarding the availability, capability, and costs of these resources. In the medium term, the Forest Service has awarded contracts for "next-generation" large airtankers that are faster and more up-to-date than most "legacy" aircraft, but it is uncertain when all of these aircraft will begin supporting fire suppression activities. Specifically, bid protests delayed contract issuance, and most of the aircraft receiving awards have not been fully tested and approved. In the long term, the Forest Service's plan includes purchasing certain large airtankers and obtaining others through intergovernmental transfer at no initial cost if they are declared surplus by the military--a shift from its long-standing practice of contracting for rather than owning aircraft. However, the Forest Service was unable to justify its previous plans for purchasing large airtankers to the Office of Management and Budget, and concerns exist regarding the retardant capacity and operating cost of the other airtankers it would obtain through intergovernmental transfer.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends, among other things, that the Forest Service and Interior expand efforts to collect information on the performance and effectiveness of firefighting aircraft and enhance collaboration across agencies and the fire aviation community. The agencies generally agreed with GAO's findings and recommendations.