Battlefield Automation: Software Problems Hinder Development of the Army's Maneuver Control System.

Abstract

The Army has spent over $765 million of the $1 billion estimated total cost for the Maneuver Control System (MCS) which is to provide battlefield information to maneuver commanders. Since 1980, the MCS program has experienced numerous problems, such as fielding inadequate computer software and canceling the development of one software version due to design flaws, cost growth, and schedule slips. Given the program's past difficulties and the important role of MCS in the Army's battlefleld automation efforts, we reviewed the Army's development and acquisition plans for MCS. Specifically, our objectives were to determine whether (1) the current MCS software development strategy is appropriate to overcome prior development problems and (2) 207 new computers for MCS related training should be procured as planned.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 16, 1997
Accession Number
ADA330506

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Application Software
  • Command And Control
  • Command And Control Systems
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Control Systems
  • Data Processing Equipment
  • Department Of Defense
  • National Security
  • Performance Tests
  • Processing Equipment
  • Software Development
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation

Readers

  • Aerospace Propulsion Engineering.
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Software Engineering.