The Nation - News from Feb. 28, 1985

The Air Force has been breaking apart brand-new airplane engines bought for emergency use to get the parts it needs to keep its F-15 and F-16 fighters flying, according to internal documents obtained by The Washington Post. This cannibalization is occurring even though Congress has appropriated billions of dollars in recent years to buy spare parts for engines already in those planes, officials said. A major reason for the cannibalization, they said, is that contractors are not delivering the spare parts on time.