Defense Acquisitions : Strong Leadership Is Key to Planning and Executing Stable Weapon Programs

For several decades, Congress and the DoD have explored ways to improve the acquisition of major weapon systems, yet program outcomes and their underlying causes have proven resistant to change. Last year, the cumulative cost growth in DoD's portfolio of major programs was $296 billion. The opportunity to achieve meaningful improvements may now be at hand with the recent intro. of major reforms to the acquisition process. This report focuses on: (1) identifying weapon programs that are achieving good outcomes; (2) the factors that enable some programs to succeed; and (3) lessons to be learned from these programs to guide implementation of recent reforms. This report conducted case study reviews of five programs. Charts and tables.