Navy maintenance crews stripping spare parts from other planes

Mechanics working on Navy F/A-18s stripped radio cables from some jets to repair others because the parts were only available "on the schedule" of the original manufacturer. - Nicholas Slayton

The U.S. Navy’s maintainers have had to strip submarines and fighter jets for spare parts to repair other planes and subs, a government watchdog found. 

In at least one case, mechanics repairing a Navy fighter jet could not repair a radio because the cables needed for the job were only available from the manufacturer...

The Government Accountability Office found that limited intellectual property and data rights, coupled with delays in the availability of parts, were forcing technicians to develop ad-hoc methods, including cannibalizing equipment to help keep certain vehicles mission-ready...