Foreign Assistance:
Analysis of Cost Estimates for Israel's Lavi Aircraft
NSIAD-87-76: Published: Jan 31, 1987. Publicly Released: Jan 31, 1987.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated conflicting cost estimates that the United States and Israel prepared for the Lavi fighter aircraft, which Israel is developing to replace its older fighter aircraft.
GAO found that: (1) Israel financed 90 percent of the development and initial production of the Lavi with U.S. foreign military sales (FMS) loans that Congress forgave; (2) the U.S. aircraft industry is heavily involved in the Lavi program; and (3) the Department of Defense (DOD) estimated that the Lavi would cost about $22.1 million per aircraft, or 52 percent more than the Israeli estimate of $14.5 million per aircraft. GAO adjusted the Israeli estimate to make it comparable to the DOD estimate and found that: (1) the Israeli-estimated hourly labor rates and other costs appeared low, while the DOD estimate for labor rates was high; (2) DOD overestimated the aircraft's weight; (3) DOD improperly adjusted its calculations for labor hours; (4) DOD overestimated the cost of materials; and (5) the DOD estimate could have been high by as much as $4.3 million. In addition, GAO found that, even using the lowest estimate, the Lavi's cost will: (1) exceed an Israeli-imposed annual spending limit for the aircraft; and (2) cause Israel to spend an increasing portion of its defense budget on the Lavi and damage its ability to meet its other defense needs.
Mar 28, 2018
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Ebola Recovery:
USAID Has Initiated or Completed Most Projects, but a Complete Project Inventory Is Still Needed for Evaluating Its EffortsGAO-18-350: Published: Mar 28, 2018. Publicly Released: Mar 28, 2018.
Mar 22, 2018
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Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrants:
More Information on Their Resettlement Outcomes Would Be BeneficialGAO-18-107: Published: Feb 20, 2018. Publicly Released: Mar 22, 2018.
Mar 16, 2018
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Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States:
Treasury Should Coordinate Assessments of Resources Needed to Address Increased WorkloadGAO-18-249: Published: Feb 14, 2018. Publicly Released: Mar 16, 2018.
Mar 8, 2018
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Remittances to Fragile Countries:
Treasury Should Assess Risks from Shifts to Non-Banking ChannelsGAO-18-313: Published: Mar 8, 2018. Publicly Released: Mar 8, 2018.
Mar 6, 2018
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Intellectual Property:
CBP Can Enhance Information Sharing with the Private Sector to Address Changes in the Counterfeits MarketGAO-18-383T: Published: Mar 6, 2018. Publicly Released: Mar 6, 2018.
Feb 27, 2018
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Intellectual Property:
Agencies Can Improve Efforts to Address Risks Posed by Changing Counterfeits MarketGAO-18-216: Published: Jan 30, 2018. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2018.
Feb 14, 2018
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Inter-American Organizations:
U.S. Share of Assessed Contributions and U.S. Agencies' Efforts to Monitor Assistance AgreementsGAO-18-357T: Published: Feb 14, 2018. Publicly Released: Feb 14, 2018.
Feb 6, 2018
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UN Peacekeeping:
Cost Estimate for Hypothetical U.S. Operation Exceeds Actual Costs for Comparable UN OperationGAO-18-243: Published: Feb 6, 2018. Publicly Released: Feb 6, 2018.
Jan 29, 2018
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Inter-American Organizations:
U.S. Agencies Support Oversight Mechanisms but Could Enhance Their Monitoring of U.S. Assistance AgreementsGAO-18-219: Published: Dec 29, 2017. Publicly Released: Jan 29, 2018.
Dec 14, 2017
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Democracy Assistance:
State Should Improve Accountability Over Funding; USAID Should Assess Whether New Processes Have Improved Award DocumentationGAO-18-136: Published: Dec 14, 2017. Publicly Released: Dec 14, 2017.
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