- The Government Accountability Office has released the findings of its 24th annual weapon systems acquisition assessment
- The report showed that the Department of War was not able to fully implement reforms to speed up the delivery of defense capabilities
- The GAO made new recommendations stressing the importance of starting acquisition programs with mature technologies to avoid delivery delays
A report released Thursday by the Government Accountability Office revealed that the Department of War faced delays in the delivery of weapon systems due to shortcomings in the implementation of reformed acquisition programs.
The GAO’s 24th annual weapon systems acquisition assessment looked at the execution of DOW reforms in June 2024 and 2025, particularly middle tier of acquisition, or MTA, pathways.
What Deficiencies Did GAO Find in the DOW Weapons Acquisition Programs?
The government watchdog found that expensive major defense acquisition programs moved back their critical target milestones, bringing into question the feasibility of the 12-year overall average the agency set to deliver a capability. The report also cited that nearly half of the 40 middle tier of acquisition programs that entered the MTA pathway between 2018 and 2025 did so with immature tech.
In 2022, the DOW agreed to the GAO’s recommendation to overhaul its policies on weapon system acquisition, test and evaluation, and systems and digital engineering. However, the defense agency has not fully implemented its reforms. Only one out of 19 major defense acquisition programs has fully implemented a minimum viable product. For MTA pathways, four out of 23 projects have been incorporated.
What Are the GAO’s Recommended Solutions?
The agency strongly recommended that the DOW enforce the utilization of mature technologies in MTA and MDAP pathways. Otherwise, immature technologies should be developed separately from these programs. The DOW should also follow through with enforcing leading practices to reach its target speed in capability delivery.
