Summary: The United States today wields unprecedented military strength, boasting an impressive arsenal of battleforce ships, combat planes, tanks, and munitions. The acquisition of many of these weapons, however, has been fraught with major problems. Commitments have been made to programs like the B-2 bomber without first demonstrating that they meet critical performance requirements. Unit costs for weapon systems like the DDG-51 destroyer and the C-17 transport continue to spiral upward. Meanwhile, weapons such as the Advanced Cruise Missile and Apache helicopter have been encountering costly production and support problems. This report explores what can be done to reverse past trends and improve the acquisition process. Today's acquisition problems are the consequences of a procurement process that has become deeply rooted over the years. Yet GAO believes that the prospects for lasting change, given the diminished Soviet threat and declining defense budgets, have never been more encouraging. This report draws on 15 years of GAO work on acquisition issues, examining the cultural side of acquisition problems to suggest ways to improve the process in the future.
