Weapon Systems Annual Assessment: DoD Leaders Should Ensure That Newer Programs Are Structured for Speed and Innovation

Abstract

Despite recent reforms, the Department of Defense (DOD) remains plagued by escalating costs, prolonged development cycles, and structural inefficiencies that impede its ability to acquire and deploy innovative technologies with speed. GAO found that DOD plans to invest nearly $2.4 trillion to develop and acquire its costliest weapon programs. Yet the average expected time for major defense acquisition programs to provide the warfighter with even an initial capability is almost 12 years from the program’s start—a time frame incompatible with meeting emerging threats. DOD remains deeply entrenched in a traditional linear acquisition structure--characterized by rigid, sequential processes—that has proven inadequate in adapting to evolving threats and integrating emerging innovation. In a linear acquisition, the cost, schedule, and performance baselines are fixed early. Thus, programs develop weapon systems to meet fixed requirements that were set years in advance. This approach risks delivering a system—sometimes decades later—that is already obsolete. In contrast, leading companies use iterative cycles to design, validate, and deliver complex products with speed. Activities in these iterative cycles often overlap as the design undergoes continuous user engagement and testing, which allows the product to get to market quickly. This presentation discusses findings from GAO’s 23rd annual weapon system assessment, including characteristics and performance of 106 of DOD’s costliest weapon programs and findings from selected programs’ implementation of leading practices for product development, as well as modern software and cybersecurity practices.