Weapons Testing: DOD Needs to Plan and Conduct More Timely Operational Tests and Evaluation

Abstract

Several DOD and congressional initiatives to reduce risks in system acquisition and many reports have highlighted weapon system performance and testing shortfalls. Our review of six current systems plus other recent work shows that DOD has made little progress in assuring that earlier OT&E is planned and conducted. The military services generally are not conducting or planning to conduct OT&E on weapon system until after production start-up. In our view, the barriers we examined do not preclude earlier OT&E. With proper planning, an operational test can and should be accomplished before production start-up. We found that although some prototypes have been used for development test and evaluation, the military services generally are not planning to use them for OT&E before production start-up. We believe, however, that with adequate planning, prototypes can be designated for OT&E, if such testing is properly planned. Moreover, because test articles are available during the full-scale development phase of the acquisition process, it is generally not necessary to begin production to provide them for OT&E. (EG)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 17, 1990
Accession Number
ADA221712

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Anti-Radiation Missiles
  • Communication Systems
  • Congress
  • Cruise Missiles
  • Department Of Defense
  • Guided Missiles
  • Line Of Sight
  • National Security
  • Navy
  • Radar
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Warfare
  • Weapon Systems
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering.
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management