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Article: Report claims most B-1Bs not mission capable. (General Accounting Office report on Air Force aircraft, 'Strategic Bomber: Issues Relating to the B-1B's Availability to Perform Conventional Missions'; Defense Dept. analysis of deployment of aircraft outlined in GAO report, 'Air Force: Assessment of DoD's Report on Plan and Capabilities for Evaluating Heavy Bombers')
- Article from:
- Defense Daily
- Article date:
- February 1, 1994
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Access Intelligence, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The number of B-1Bs capable of performing and sustaining missions during a conventional conflict falls short of Air Force requirements, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reports.
As of this past September, only 40 of 95 B-1Bs were mission capable, falling 20 short of the number required by the Air Force Bomber Roadmap, according to the report. The number of aircraft capable for combat is not expected to significantly increase between now and 2004.
Until 1992, the Air Force peacetime availability standard--or planes that are "mission capable"--was 75 percent. The goal was to have 80 B-1Bs ready for combat at operating bases, but for the past three years ...