Audit of Repair Pricing on the F/A 18 Hornet Radar Systems (Report No. DODIG 2024 122)

Audit of Repair Pricing on the F/A-18 Hornet Radar Systems (Report No. DODIG-2024-122)

Audit

The objective of this audit was to determine whether the Department of the Navy (DON) obtained fair and reasonable pricing for repair of Airborne Fire Control Radar Systems on the F/A-18 Hornet.

The DoD Hotline received allegations that the DON was overpaying Raytheon Technologies Corporation (Raytheon), an aerospace and defense company, and Vertex Modernization and Sustainment LLC (Vertex M&S) for repair of Airborne Fire Control Radar Systems including the AN/APG-65 and AN/APG-73 on the F/A-18 Hornet. AN/APG-65 and AN/APG-73 are designations for all-weather, multimode airborne radar systems for the F/A-18 Hornet and used on a variety of other fighter aircraft types.

Raytheon started repairing AN/APG-65 and AN/APG-73 radars on the F/A-18 Hornet in 1998. In December 2021, Vertex Aerospace LLC acquired the Global Training and Logistics, Mission Modernization Solutions, and Technology and Tolling Solutions businesses from Raytheon. In July 2022, Vertex Aerospace LLC merged with Vectrus Systems Corporation and rebranded as V2X Incorporated. Vertex M&S, a subsidiary of V2X Incorporated, is currently the only approved source to provide repair of the AN/APG-65 and AN/APG-73.