A Half-Billion Dollars Reportedly Spent On Airplanes That May Be Scrapped

A Special Inspector General with oversight of military operations in Afghanistan has opened an investigation into a program that spent a half-billion dollars on refurbished C-27 airplanes that are not currently flying and may be scrapped.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other military officials dated December 5, Special Inspector General John F. Sopko said "This letter is to inform you that the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) Office of Special Projects is starting a review of the terminated G222 (C-27A) aircraft program."

According to the letter, the DOD initiated the program in 2002 "to provide 20 G222s to the Afghan Air Force (AAF). The G222s are twin [engine] military transport aircraft built in Italy. In January 2013, the DOD Inspector General (DODIG) reported that the G222 Project Management Office (PMO) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Training Mission–Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (NTM-A/CSTC-A) did not properly manage the effort to obtain the spare parts needed to keep the aircraft flightworthy.

"Despite spending at least $486.1 million in acquisition and sustainment costs on the program, DODIG reported that the aircraft flew only 234 of the 4,500 required hours from January through September 2012," the letter says. "The DODIG also concluded that an additional $200 million in Afghanistan Security Forces Funds might have to be spent on spare parts for the aircraft to meet operational requirements, noting that several critical spare parts for the aircraft were unavailable."

Fox News reports that the top acquisition official for the Air Force, Lt. Gen Charles Davis, recently told Bloomberg that the planes "just weren't right for the environment" and would probably "be destroyed and moved out of the country."

That was confirmed by Air Force Spokesman Eg Gulick, who told Fox News in an email that he expects the 2014 defense bill currently before congress could allow the Pentagon to take control of the aircraft, allowing the DoD to "undertake final disposition of the equipment, including reuse, sale, transfer, or disposal."

(C-27 pictured in file photo)

FMI: Sopko Letter