Sourcing Obsolete Military Aircraft Parts for Legacy Jets

The U.S. military aircraft fleet is getting old. Really, really old. Yes, the F-22 and F-35 fleets are new. The E-11A BACN is relatively new, too. But overall, the aircraft in the U.S. military are getting old. The B-52s in the Air Force fleet were built in the 1950s and 1960s, and the KC-135s were built right there with them (note: the KC-135 was built with the B-52 in mind, which is why their performance profiles are so similar).

While those are the oldest jets in the Air Force inventory, many of the other aircraft aren’t much newer. The E-3 AWACS is built on the Boeing 707 airframe, and the older model C-130s (H-models) are from the 1960s and 1970s. While these aircraft are still remarkably reliable for their age, they are old, and old airplanes break. Let’s take a look at what happens when they do and how you can source parts for these aircraft. 

Why Are Obsolete Parts Hard To Get?

So, why is it hard to find and source parts for aging, legacy military aircraft? The answer is in that previous sentence: they are old. 

The Rockwell Case Study

Perhaps the very best case study in the Air Force inventory for why sourcing parts for aging aircraft is Rockwell Aerospace. 

In the 1970s, the Cold War was in full swing. Yes, we were done with Vietnam, but that was just to remind us that the Red Scare was still alive and well. The B-52 had served admirably in Vietnam, especially for Operations Linebacker I and Linebacker II. But Vietnam was a very different type of warfare than anything we expected to encounter with the Soviet Union. 

The anticipated loss rates for using the huge, relatively slow B-52 to strike targets in Eastern Europe and Russia were horrendous. So, the Air Force went looking for something that could move extremely fast while hugging the earth. The F-111 Ardvaark was in service and was a frontline Cold War bomber, but it was severely limited in range. War planning wanted the speed and low-level ability of the ‘Vark but with much greater internal fuel capacity and munitions capacity. 

The B-1A was born. Eventually, the B-1A would become the B-1B pre-production, and around 100 B-1Bs were produced, with the first model, the “Star of Abilene,” arriving at Dyess AFB in 1985. 

The B-1B was plagued with maintenance headaches from the start, and it didn’t help that the company folded. So, what’s the point of this anecdote?

B-1s have historically had terrible mission-capable rates, often hovering in the sixty-percent range. Part of the problem is their complexity; for one, they run a 4,000psi hydraulic system rather than the standard 3,000psi largely because all of the control surfaces are very large and hydraulically actuated. 

But the bigger issue is the poor availability of parts. Rockwell subcontracted all kinds of systems and subsystems on the project, and many of those manufacturers, along with Rockwell itself, have long since closed. So, the supply chain of parts for these aircraft is very weak. There haven’t been any new parts in decades, so it is up to back shop maintainers to keep these parts in working order. 

This article is not about the B-1 or any other specific airframe. Rather, the B-1 is a cautionary tale of what happens when suppliers permanently close their doors. Now, the aircraft is pushing four decades old and struggles to stay in the air because of parts and logistical nightmares. 

Supply Chain Issues

Going back to the bomber world, let’s compare notes. Why does the B-52 seemingly have no problem staying in the air over the B-1, even though it is 20-30 years older?

Well, for one thing, it is less complex. This makes a difference. You can’t have enormous, swept wings and full-motion control surfaces, and you can travel well over Mach 1 with these things without having some issues. But the B-52 soldiers on, year after year. 

There are 76 B-52s in the inventory, but 744 were built and delivered. Most of these were destroyed due to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) signed on 31 July 1991. While the airframes were destroyed, the aircraft were stripped of parts, leaving an extremely robust supply chain to work with. By contrast, over half of the original B-1 fleet remains in service today (62 of 100). 

Inherently complex airframe + limited parts supply = terrible MC rates. 

Poor Mission Capability Rates Cripple Fleets

It doesn’t matter what the airframe is in question; weak supply chains have a cascading effect on the designated mission. 

Take the training fleet of T-1s and T-6 Texan IIs. If these aircraft are down for extended periods of time because of poor parts availability, it pushes back the entire training cycle, which then compromises the student pilot's ability to make it to their advanced training track. 

Of course, this is bad, but when our tactical fleets have poor MC rates, essential tools in our national security strategy must be done without assets from another airframe, location, or even branch of service that has to step in and cover the mission. 

How To Source Obsolete Parts

Unfortunately, there is no easy button for sourcing obsolete parts. You have to do it the old-fashioned way: knowing where to look and knowing the people who have them. And in this case, there is no substitute for experience. Greenwood Aerospace has been in the business of fixed-wing parts procurement for the government and especially the military for over forty years. 

We can’t make any more of these parts, but through our proprietary GPIQ software, we can pinpoint reliable suppliers to ensure you can acquire what you need. We are your procurement experts for aerospace supply chains, and we can streamline your logistics chains to make sure that you are as prepared as humanly possible for any maintenance issues that come your way. 

Parting Thoughts

Whatever mission you support, whatever military aircraft you are working on, Greenwood Aerospace is your trusted source for:

• Aircraft parts procurement
• Parts kitting
• Warehouse
• MIL-SPEC packaging and shipping
• And a lot more

We can’t get more obsolete parts in the supply chain, but we can root around and find the best sources for the mission at hand. 

Give us a call today to see how we can help, or start an online quote now!