Hindustani78
BANNED
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2014
- Messages
- 40,471
- Reaction score
- -47
- Country
- Location
By Phillip Swarts, Staff writer 10:05 a.m. EDT June 30, 2015
Watchdog thinks Pentagon has too many V-22 spare parts
The top Defense Department logistics office has stockpiled unneeded spare parts for the V-22 Osprey, including nearly 80 years' worth of spare aircraft frames, the Pentagon's internal investigator said.
The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation office's "process to manage V‑22 Osprey spare parts resulted in excessive inventory for 22 spare parts, valued at approximately $8.7 million," according to the Inspector General.
"In addition, DLA Aviation could incur holding costs for the excessive inventory placed in storage," the IG said in a report.
The V-22 Osprey is a workhorse aircraft used by the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and special forces operations. Its propellers rotate both vertically and horizontally, designed to give the craft the speed and distance of an airplane with the vertical takeoff and landing capability of a helicopter.
It's the second time this month the investigative office has taken issue with how many spare parts DLA Aviation keeps on hand. The IG said there is also an excessive buildup of spare parts for the C-130 cargo plane. In particular, DLA had built up a supply of 68 C-130 parts worth $16 million, but the Air Force was requesting just $1.36 million worth of those parts annually.
Unlike the C-130 parts, however, the IG does not believe DLA lost track of how many parts it had on hand or was ordering. The two offices are instead disagreeing on the proper amount of spare V-22 parts that need to be available.
A response from DLA said that it reviews on a monthly basis V-22 inventory and checks for any excessive amounts of spare parts.
But the IG has asked for additional comments, stating that while it agrees DLA Aviation regularly conducts reviews of the spare parts, the office has not assessed "the reasonableness of retaining this quantity" or the money that could be lost because of the quantity.
Investigators used DLA Aviation's own requirements objective to determine the level of parts needed, then added a two-year supply onto their calculation to ensure that emergencies or increases in demand were met.
The IG, however, said that the amount of spare parts was far above even DLA's own requirements. For example, investigators estimated that the 166 V-22 aircraft frames the DLA had on hand would last 79 years at the rate they're currently being used.
Likewise, DLA has 18 aircraft chassis assemblies, which could take 18 years to use. The IG said it believed it would be reasonable to only keep four years' worth of inventory.
Altogether, the watchdog office thinks the DLA has $8.7 million in excess spare parts, and could waste more than $700,000 on storage and maintenance fees.
"DLA Aviation is required to purchase spare parts in quantities that minimize the total cost of ordering and holding the spare parts in inventory," the IG's office said.
According to data from the IG's office, the V-22 Osprey has a range of more than 2,100 nautical miles and can carry 24 troops as well as up to 20,000 pounds of cargo. The DLA maintains more than 41,000 space parts that are unique to the V-22, valued at $539 million.
Watchdog thinks Pentagon has too many V-22 spare parts
The top Defense Department logistics office has stockpiled unneeded spare parts for the V-22 Osprey, including nearly 80 years' worth of spare aircraft frames, the Pentagon's internal investigator said.
The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation office's "process to manage V‑22 Osprey spare parts resulted in excessive inventory for 22 spare parts, valued at approximately $8.7 million," according to the Inspector General.
"In addition, DLA Aviation could incur holding costs for the excessive inventory placed in storage," the IG said in a report.
The V-22 Osprey is a workhorse aircraft used by the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and special forces operations. Its propellers rotate both vertically and horizontally, designed to give the craft the speed and distance of an airplane with the vertical takeoff and landing capability of a helicopter.
It's the second time this month the investigative office has taken issue with how many spare parts DLA Aviation keeps on hand. The IG said there is also an excessive buildup of spare parts for the C-130 cargo plane. In particular, DLA had built up a supply of 68 C-130 parts worth $16 million, but the Air Force was requesting just $1.36 million worth of those parts annually.
Unlike the C-130 parts, however, the IG does not believe DLA lost track of how many parts it had on hand or was ordering. The two offices are instead disagreeing on the proper amount of spare V-22 parts that need to be available.
A response from DLA said that it reviews on a monthly basis V-22 inventory and checks for any excessive amounts of spare parts.
But the IG has asked for additional comments, stating that while it agrees DLA Aviation regularly conducts reviews of the spare parts, the office has not assessed "the reasonableness of retaining this quantity" or the money that could be lost because of the quantity.
Investigators used DLA Aviation's own requirements objective to determine the level of parts needed, then added a two-year supply onto their calculation to ensure that emergencies or increases in demand were met.
The IG, however, said that the amount of spare parts was far above even DLA's own requirements. For example, investigators estimated that the 166 V-22 aircraft frames the DLA had on hand would last 79 years at the rate they're currently being used.
Likewise, DLA has 18 aircraft chassis assemblies, which could take 18 years to use. The IG said it believed it would be reasonable to only keep four years' worth of inventory.
Altogether, the watchdog office thinks the DLA has $8.7 million in excess spare parts, and could waste more than $700,000 on storage and maintenance fees.
"DLA Aviation is required to purchase spare parts in quantities that minimize the total cost of ordering and holding the spare parts in inventory," the IG's office said.
According to data from the IG's office, the V-22 Osprey has a range of more than 2,100 nautical miles and can carry 24 troops as well as up to 20,000 pounds of cargo. The DLA maintains more than 41,000 space parts that are unique to the V-22, valued at $539 million.
