The Government Accountability Office has called on the Department of Defense to improve its use of the modular open systems approach, or MOSA, in developing weapon systems to save time and money.
In a Wednesday report, GAO said the Pentagon failed to consistently employ the approach for design decisions across weapon programs, noting that by overlooking the benefits of MOSA, the agency missed opportunities to cut costs and implement faster upgrades.
Squandered Benefits of Proper MOSA Use
According to GAO, its review of 20 DOD programs showed that none conducted a formal analysis of costs and benefits for MOSA because it’s not a requirement. However, the agency’s decision to skip the approach reportedly led to wasted benefits, such as increased innovation, enhanced interoperability, lower prices due to higher competition and faster repairs and upgrades.
While the DOD is preparing regulations and guidance to address MOSA use, the office said that gaps still exist, which could hamper its implementation. The GAO report stressed the urgency of using MOSA more efficiently as it enables weapon programs to better respond to changing threats and address high weapon system sustainment costs.
GAO Recommendations
In conclusion, the GAO review submitted 14 recommendations to the DOD, including that the agency develop a process to analyze MOSA costs and benefits and resolve the identified issues in MOSA policy and guidance. The Pentagon concurred with the suggestions.
