The Government Accountability Office has called on the secretary of the Navy to develop a ship industrial base strategy that aligns with the National Defense Industrial Strategy.
In a report published Thursday, GAO made the recommendation after it found that the service branch lacks an overall strategy for managing the ship industrial base.
According to the report, the Navy’s lack of such a strategy impedes its efforts to address challenges, such as changing plans for future work and handling competing priorities.
Performance Metrics Development
GAO is urging the Navy to establish performance metrics to assess the aggregate and programmatic effect of the service’s ship industrial base investments.
According to the report, the Navy and the Office of Secretary of Defense, or OSD, need established performance metrics and better visibility across investments to ensure that their investments in the shipbuilding industrial base reflect the effective use of federal funds to build a larger fleet of ships.
Other Recommendations
According to the congressional watchdog, OSD should ensure that the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Secretary of the Navy regularly coordinate on industrial base support investments. Efforts include collecting and sharing relevant data.
GAO said the commander of Naval Sea Systems Command should update and implement policies to direct its contracts directorate to gather data for shipyard investment incentives from contracting officers to continuously track its incentive efforts.
