Defense Acquisitions : Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs

An assessment of Dept. of Defense (DOD) weapon system acquisitions, an area that is on GAO's High-Risk List. The DOD and Congress have taken meaningful steps to improve the acquisition of major weapon systems, yet many programs are still falling short of cost and schedule estimates. Moreover, GAO has emphasized the importance of completing developmental testing before programs enter production and pointed out risks associated with such concurrent testing and production. With expected budgetary pressures, DOD cannot afford to miss opportunities to address inefficiencies in these programs to free up resources for higher priority needs. This report includes observations on (1) the cost and schedule performance of DOD's 2013 portfolio of 80 major defense acquisition programs; (2) the knowledge attained at key junctures in the acquisition process for 38 programs that were in development or early production; and (3) key acquisition reform initiatives and program concurrency. Tables and figures.