Army Requirement to Acquire Individual Carbine Not Justified
Abstract
Objective: We initiated this audit to determine whether the Army justified its competition to acquire a new Individual Carbine (IC) weapon and whether the Army was implementing an effective acquisition strategy. Finding: The Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, did not justify the requirement for a new carbine. This occurred because the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, did not follow the Small Arms Capabilities Based Assessment findings and recommendations, and inappropriately approved and validated the requirements document used to support the establishment of the individual carbine program. As a result, the Army wasted about $14 million on a competition to identify a source to supply new carbines it does not need. In addition, the Army plans to spend $2.52 billion over a 20-year life cycle to procure and maintain 501,289 carbines that its own analysis suggests can be delayed for another 10 years with no impact on readiness. We identified potential monetary benefits of $2.52 billion, $382 million of funds to put to better use ($375 million in procurement funding and $7 million in research, development, test, and evaluation funding) and $2.14 billion in cost avoidance after FY 2018 if the program is terminated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 16, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA591255
Entities
People
- Amy J. Frontz
Organizations
- Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense