Its measure of concurrency is the amount of initial operational testing and evaluation (IOT&E) completed before entering production of a system. At that time, the Air Force planned to acquire 648 F-22 operational aircraft at a cost of $86.6 billion. We found that development flight tests of critical F-22 technology advances are not scheduled to begin until about 1 year after LRIP is scheduled to start and over $2 billion will have been committed to procure F-22 aircraft. Production of 36 aircraft a year under LRIP represents 75 percent of the planned full-production rate. Plan for F-22 Low-Rate Production Compared With 1994 Congressional Guidelines

For programs entering the engineering and manufacturing phase of the acquisition cycle, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 requires the Secretary of Defense to explain to the Congress any plans to procure more than 10 percent of the total procurement quantity in the LRIP phase. Commitments to Production of F-22s Prior to IOT&E Completion Is Higher Than Most Prior Fighter Programs

The Air Force’s planned commitment to production of F-22’s prior to completion of IOT&E, as a percentage of total production, exceeds the commitments made for recent fighter programs except the F-15, in which the percent is about the same as the F-22. Development Risks With High Technology Systems and Subsystems

The Air Force plans to use advances in technologies and innovations to provide high performance and increased reliability and maintainability for the F-22. Recommendation

We recommend that the Secretary of Defense reduce the degree of concurrency in the program because independent testing of technology advances (IOT&E), will not be completed before significant commitments are made to produce F-22s; the percentage of planned F-22s to be committed to production before completion of IOT&E is higher than most recent fighter programs; and the need for the F-22 is not urgent. By that measure, the F-22 program clearly has a high degree of concurrency. 3. We believe that exceeds the minimum needed to successfully complete the LRIP phase of the program and that the production rates should be restricted during LRIP. 4. 9. 10. 11.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO assessed the concurrency between the development and production phases of the Air Force's F-22 fighter program and the risks associated with that concurrency.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) the F-22 program has a high degree of concurrency because it will enter production before initial operational testing and evaluation (IOT&E) is completed; (2) F-22 concurrency poses substantial production and operational risks because the aircraft may be procured before technological advances are flight-tested; (3) the Air Force plans to procure 80 F-22 aircraft at a cost of $12.4 billion before completing IOT&E; (4) the F-22 low-rate initial production (LRIP) quantities substantially exceed the 10-percent guideline included in federal acquisition streamlining requirements; (5) the percentage of F-22 committed to production before IOT&E is higher than most recent fighter programs; (6) the Air Force plans to accelerate F-22 production rates in the LRIP phase of the program so that 75 percent of the full production rate will be achieved; (7) the planned rate of acceleration appears to exceed the amount that is needed to complete the program's LRIP phase and represents a plan to commit to a full-rate production schedule before IOT&E is completed; (8) the Air Force should limit LRIP quantities each year given the program's high degree of concurrency; (9) technology advances and innovations are critical to F-22 operational success; (10) the need for F-22 aircraft is not urgent and its procurement could be deferred; and (11) existing operational and technological problems need to be addressed before significant commitments are made to F-22 production.