Defense Acquisitions: Additional Actions Needed to Implement Proposed Improvements to Congressional Reporting

Abstract

GAO is in the midst of conducting its 20th annual assessment of DOD’s major weapon acquisition programs. DOD’s approach to acquisition has shifted during those 20 years, most recently with the introduction of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework (AAF) in January 2020, intended to, among other things, deliver solutions to the end user in a timely manner. However, many of the challenges GAO has observed with weapon programs’ cost, schedule, and performance remain consistent. This presentation will draw primarily from GAO’s 2021 and 2022 reports, which are the first annual reports to focus on changes associated with the AAF, including DOD’s efforts to accelerate the acquisition process and progress in delivering capabilities more quickly. The presentation will offer observations on DOD’s initial progress in implementing the AAF for weapon programs, including potential program oversight implications; the overall characteristics of DOD’s major weapon system acquisitions, including changes in the pathways used to acquire weapon systems; and how these programs have performed with regard to selected cost, schedule, and knowledge attainment metrics.