The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Defense, particularly the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, come up with transition agreements between developers of directed energy weapon prototypes and identified transition partners within the first year of a prototyping project.
GAO made the recommendation after it found that DOD, which spends $1 billion annually on DE weapons development efforts, faces challenges when it comes to transitioning prototypes to acquisition programs, according to a report published Monday.
“Without these transition planning steps, the Navy and Air Force risk developing directed energy weapons that may be misaligned with operational needs,” the GAO report reads.
According to the report, the U.S. Army created a detailed transition plan outlining the roles of stakeholders and schedules to support the move of weapons prototypes to the development phase.
GAO also recommended that the Navy and Air Force document how they gather, track and integrate feedback from prototype users during the development and testing phases.
