Fighter, Bomber Readiness Rates In Serious Decline

摘要

The high pace of operations, coupled with increasing aircraft age, is taking its toll on USAF's fighter and bomber readiness. Service data show a decline in mission-capable rates over the past five years.rnAccording to DOD, the designation "mission-capable"-or MC-means an aircraft is in sufficiently good condition to perform at least one, and potentially all, of its designated missions. The MC rate refers to the percent of a fleet that is in this condition.rnThe MC rate for USAF fighters reached a recent peak in 2005, at 77.5 percent and has been declining at the rate of about one percentage point per year. It now stands at 72.1 percent, according to the data, which run into late 2008.rnThe MC rate for bombers peaked in 2004 at 70.3 percent, but has declined more steeply and now sits at 58.2 percent.rnMC rates alone do not tell the whole story on platform availability. Indeed, the situation is worse than it appears. When one factors in the fighters and bombers that are in depot for routine overhauls, availability numbers fall precipitously.