Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) and Air Force's efforts to upgrade the North American Aerospace Defense Command's (NORAD) Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment System's computerized subsystems at Cheyenne Mountain, Wyoming, focusing on: (1) recent organizational changes for managing the Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade (CMU) program; and (2) whether the Air Force's $1.58-billion cost estimate for a mission-ready system was realistic.
GAO found that: (1) DOD and the Air Force made some organizational changes to increase CMU program management oversight, but had not appointed a single accountable manager for the total system; (2) DOD designated the program as a major system acquisition, but the resolution of system integration problems would still be impeded by the fragmentation of responsibilities; (3) in February 1990, the Air Force estimated the program's cost at $1.58 billion, but understated the estimate by at least $350 million; and (4) the Air Force deferred some subsystem requirements to keep the program within its short-term cost and schedule goals, which could significantly increase the duration and cost of system development.
