Mission Capable Rates for USAF

[GZR_Sactargets]

This statistic is key in determining how effective your force is. It tells you how many you need on the ramp to keep some number in the air. Also used to determine a "buy" number for a particular aircraft.

From AF Daily Report- 12 Jan 09

The Ups and Downs of MC Rates: Mission capable rates—the number of aircraft assigned for duty that are ready to fly—have declined over the past 10 years for Air Force fighters and bombers, according to service data we've seen that run through early Fiscal 2009. Fighter MC rates peaked in 2005, at 77.5 percent, but have been losing about a percentage point a year, and now stand at 72.1 percent. The MC rates for bombers peaked in 2004 at 70.3 percent, but have declined more steeply and now check in at just 58.2 percent. On an up note, airlift MC rates climbed to about 74 percent in Fiscal 2002 and have hovered between 73 and 75 percent since. And, the trend for intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance platforms has risen steadily, from 70.8 percent in 2000 to 84.3 percent today. (Of note, those ISR rates include relatively uncomplicated unmanned aerial vehicles such as MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers.) Surprisingly the MC rate for KC-135s, which are among the oldest aircraft in service, has improved since 2000 when it was 71.1 percent, and now stands at 79.7 percent; this is likely due to heavy investment in spare parts and the virtual rebuilding of these aircraft in depot, not to mention, the hard work of USAF maintainers.

A Different Spin: Mission capable rates for Air Force aircraft (see above) don't tell the whole story on platform availability. Indeed, when factoring the aircraft that are in depot for routine overhauls as well as those that are assigned for duty, availability numbers for each aircraft type fall precipitously. For example, fighter availability rates are about 58.9 percent today, down from a recent high of 69.2 percent in Fiscal 2005. Airlift and tanker availability rates hover around the 60 percent range, as do those for special operations and combat search and rescue platforms. But only 44.8 percent of the bomber fleet is ready to go at any time, down from a peak of 57.2 percent in Fiscal 2002. The worst availability rate of any platform belongs to the B-2A, which is available for combat only 36.8 percent of any given time. (Worth noting, though, is that the entire B-2 fleet is only 20 aircraft, some of which still require laborious stealth surface preparation for combat.) The most available platform is the MQ-1 Predator, which is ready to go 80.6 percent of the time.