Weapons Acquisition: Warranty Law Should Be Repealed.

Abstract

As part of the 1985 Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization Act Congress enacted legislation requiring DOD to obtain cost-effective warranties on weapon systems. The warranties were expected to improve weapon system reliability by providing a mechanism to hold contractors liable for poor performance. Past reviews by GAO' and others concluded that DOD was not properly managing its warranty program. This report assesses whether the warranties being obtained for weapon systems provide the expected benefits to the government and whether warranties, as required by 10 U. S. C. 2403, are compatible with weapon system acquisitions. As part of the 1985 Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization Act Congress enacted legislation requiring DOD to obtain cost-effective warranties on weapon systems. The warranties were expected to improve weapon system reliability by providing a mechanism to hold contractors liable for poor performance. Past reviews by GAO' and others concluded that DOD was not properly managing its warranty program. This report assesses whether the warranties being obtained for weapon systems provide the expected benefits to the government and whether warranties, as required by 10 U. S. C. 2403, are compatible with weapon system acquisitions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA310705

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Congress
  • Contracts
  • Cost Benefit Analysis
  • Cost Effectiveness
  • Department Of Defense
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Law
  • Maintenance Personnel
  • Military Acquisition
  • Money
  • National Security
  • Procurement
  • Reliability
  • Systems Management
  • United States

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis