Summary: GAO reviewed the Air Force's C-X airlift aircraft program. The Air Force has been studying various alternatives for obtaining additional airlift capability. Alternatives considered include: Civil Reserve Air Fleet enhancements; the procurement of commercial wide-bodied aircraft or derivatives thereof; and procurement of military airlifters. The Air Force has recommended the procurement of the C-X as the desired military airlifter. Congress did not appropriate funds for the C-X program for fiscal year 1982. Instead, $50 million was appropriated to initiate the procurement of wide-bodied aircraft.
The Department of Defense may not solicit the maximum practicable competition if an airlifter other than the C-X is to be selected to meet U.S. airlift requirements. Failure to do so could result in sole-source awards for multibillion dollar systems without permitting industry the opportunity to make proposals for an aircraft with different size and capabilities than the C-X. Realizing that there are trade-offs, every effort should be made to obtain the best mix of modern, capable, and economical systems possible since they will probably be in the Air Force inventory well into the next century.
