It is estimated that DOD employs more than 400 different tester types. This equipment is used to diagnose problems in aircraft avionics and weapon system components so that the component can be repaired and replaced on the aircraft or put into the supply system for future use. For example, testers may be used to diagnose problems with aircraft radars, guidance and control systems, or weapon systems. According to DOD, the department spent over $50 billion in its acquisition and support of ATE from 1980 through 1992, and the procurement was characterized by the proliferation of testers designed to support a specific weapon system or component. These testers are quickly becoming obsolete and more difficult and costly to maintain because they may no longer be in production and parts may not be readily available. Over the years, various studies have criticized the continued proliferation of unique ATE and highlighted the need for the development and acquisition of testers that can be used to test more than one system or component. In September 1993, the House Appropriations Committee recommended that the Secretary of Defense develop a DOD-wide policy requiring ATE commonality among the services, along with a formal implementation mechanism with sufficient authority, staffing, and funding to ensure compliance. In 1994, DOD established a policy stating that managers of DOD programs should select families of testers or commercial off-the-shelf components to meet all ATE acquisition needs and that the introduction of unique testers should be minimized. DOD designated the Navy at that time as its Executive Agent to oversee policy implementation in all services, and identified a goal of reducing life-cycle costs and providing greater ATE commonality and interoperability. Additional DOD guidance published in 1996 and 1997 required that all ATE acquisitions be part of the approved families of testers or commercial off-the-shelf. DOD faces major challenges with aging and increasingly obsolete ATE. These problems include the high costs of maintaining and replacing ATE and the declining availability of spare parts for the aging testers. In addition, several DOD organizations, including the Navy Inspector General, have suggested that aging and obsolete ATE may adversely affect aviation readiness. Departmentwide estimates of funds needed for ATE modernization and acquisition are not readily available. However, according to Air Force and Navy ATE managers, most of the services’ ATE is obsolete and will need to be upgraded or replaced over the next several years. Our study confirmed that replacement and modernization costs would be substantial. The Navy, for example, spent about $1.5 billion from fiscal years 1990 through 2002 for the acquisition of its primary family of testers and plans to spend an additional $430 million through fiscal year 2007. Additionally, the Navy estimates that it plans to spend $584 million through fiscal year 2007 to adapt existing test program sets necessary to perform specific tests of the various aircraft components supported by this family of testers. The Navy also anticipates spending an additional $584 million to develop program test sets for new weapon system requirements. Information on the Air Force’s spending for ATE modernization is somewhat sketchy, as limited data are available centrally for individual weapon systems. According to a recent study done for the Air Force, the service has not developed a plan that allows modernization funding requirements to be determined. However, estimates are available for selected systems. The F-15 fighter program office, for example, is spending approximately $325 million on just one tester that will be fielded in 2004. It also plans to upgrade its electronic warfare tester, which is one of seven primary testers for the aircraft, at a cost of over $40 million. A 2002 study of B-52 bomber ATE identified obsolescence issues associated with six of the aircraft’s seven major testers that will require more than $140 million in the near future. Similarly, the upgrade of a unique B-1 bomber tester is expected to exceed $15 million, even though the Air Force is considering replacing this tester and has already begun planning the acquisition. The latest estimate for the new tester is $190 million. Current ATE estimates for the F/A-22, which is still under development, are not available. However, estimates made early in the development phase exceeded $1.5 billion. ATE is becoming increasingly out-of-date and more difficult to support. And, according to service officials, using this outdated equipment to perform required tests in a timely manner is becoming increasingly challenging. Although the services could not quantify the extent that tester problems affect readiness, service officials noted that without adequate test equipment to diagnose problems, components cannot be repaired in a timely manner and the mission capability of military aircraft can be adversely affected. In August 2000, the Navy Inspector General identified shortfalls in ATE as having a negative impact on naval aviation and, in particular, on the availability of repaired components. During the same time frame, a Navy operational advisory group, recognizing the importance of ATE in maintaining readiness, ranked support equipment, including ATE, as one of its top 20 readiness issues. We have issued several reports in the recent past addressing the shortage of spare parts—a potential result of ATE problems. In addition, according to DOD readiness reports, only 28 percent of Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps key aircraft models met their readiness goals in fiscal year 2002. Although difficulties in meeting these goals are caused by a complex combination of interrelated logistical and operational factors, the shortage of spare parts was a major cause. ATE plays a significant role in the supply of available spares, since this equipment affects both how many parts are taken out of service for repair and how quickly they are repaired and returned. We reported that maintenance and repair facilities routinely work around spare parts shortages by removing a working part from one aircraft to replace a nonworking part in another aircraft, a practice called “cannibalization.” And, although the services do not record increases in cannibalizations that are caused by ATE problems, the services use cannibalization as a routine maintenance practice when testers are not available or not working properly. In July 2001, we reported that as a result of ATE not working properly, unfilled requisitions were adversely affecting the mission capability of F-14 aircraft. In another case, more than 1,200 Air Force B-1 bomber components were backlogged and could not be repaired because of the same reason. Although we were unable to measure specific reductions in the readiness of F-14 and B-1 aircraft as a result of this problem, mission capable rates for the B-1 in fiscal years 1998-2002 averaged approximately 55 percent, compared with the goal of 67 percent, while mission capable rates for the F-14D, during the same period, averaged 67 percent, compared with a goal of 71 percent. Additionally, the Air Force’s 2002 B-52 study concluded that six of the seven major testers used to test B-52 components need to be modified or replaced or the availability of the aircraft will be adversely affected as early as 2006. Air Force officials believe that similar problems will continue unless the service undertakes a major ATE modernization or replacement program. Since the early 1990s, DOD policies have addressed the need for commonality in ATE acquisition and modernization. Although the services have been making some progress, efforts to comply with these policies have been slow. For example, although the Navy has developed a single family of testers to work on many of its aircraft components, after 11 years, the replacement of its obsolete testers aboard aircraft carriers and shore maintenance facilities has not been completed. In addition, strategic planning for the modernization of automatic test equipment at Navy depots has only recently been initiated. Historically, the Air Force has not had a service-level ATE standardization policy and has essentially pursued unique ATE solutions for each weapon system. Since individual aircraft program offices have been doing their own planning for modernization, the Air Force has given little consideration to having common ATE or testers that are interoperable with those of other services. Planning for the Air Force’s latest aircraft acquisition, the F/A-22, calls for the development of automatic test equipment that will be unique to that aircraft. In August 2002, the Air Force initiated a planning effort to determine its long-term servicewide ATE modernization needs. According to Navy reports, obsolete ATE results in higher backlogs and increased flying hour costs, and adversely affects aircraft readiness. The Navy recognized years ago, and prior to the establishment of DOD’s 1994 ATE standardization policy, that its ATE was becoming obsolete. In the 1980s the Navy embarked upon an ATE standardization program to replace 25 of its testers with one standard ATE family, the Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS), to minimize unique types of testers. The Navy designed CASS to be used at maintenance activities both ashore and afloat. In 1991, the Navy began to produce CASS for the general purpose testing of equipment such as radios, radars, and electro-optics. (See fig. 2.) CASS’s replacement of 25 types of obsolete testers, in support of 2,458 weapon system components, was scheduled for completion by fiscal year 2000. However, according to Navy officials, because of budget cuts that caused delays in developing the test program sets, only 4 of the 25 have been completely replaced by CASS, and 8 test sets have been partially replaced. Navy officials told us that the completion schedule has slipped to fiscal year 2008 for aircraft carriers and shore maintenance facilities and could be much longer for aviation depots. The Navy reports that the replacement of these testers with CASS stations, when complete, will reduce the number of test-related enlisted occupational specialties from 32 to 4, thus reducing training requirements.