Defense Acquisitions Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1996-98 (Letter
Report, 06/01/96, GAO/IAP-96-3).

GAO provided information on its Defense Acquisitions issue area plan for
fiscal years 1996 through 1998.

GAO plans to assess: (1) justifications for weapon and space system
modifications; (2) the Department of Defense's (DOD) and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) acquisition strategies;
(3) DOD and NASA fiscal year (FY) 1997 research, development, test, and
evaluation and procurement budget requests; (4) DOD and NASA acquisition
management; and (5) weapon and space systems' technology and
competitiveness.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  IAP-96-3
     TITLE:  Defense Acquisitions Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1996-98
      DATE:  06/01/96
   SUBJECT:  Advanced weapons systems
             Defense procurement
             Research and development
             Defense budgets
             Defense cost control
             Technology transfer
             Competition
             Defense industry
IDENTIFIER:  C-17 Aircraft
             F-22 Aircraft
             V-22 Aircraft
             F/A-18E/F Aircraft
             B-2 Aircraft
             Joint Strike Fighter
             DOD Joint Primary Aircraft Training System
             F-14 Aircraft
             B-1B Aircraft
             Comanche Helicopter
             Army Crusader System
             FS-X Aircraft
             Navy Upper Tier Theater Missile Defense Program
             China
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


National Security and International Affairs Division

June 1996

DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS ISSUE AREA
PLAN

FISCAL YEARS 1996-98

GAO/IAP-96-3



Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  DOD -
  NASA -
  RDT&E -

FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0

As the investigative arm of Congress and the nation's auditor, the
General Accounting Office is charged with following the federal
dollar wherever it goes.  Reflecting stringent standards of
objectivity and independence, GAO's audits, evaluations, and
investigations promote a more efficient and cost-effective
government; expose waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in federal
programs; help Congress target budget reductions; assess financial
information management; and alert Congress to developing trends that
may have significant fiscal or budgetary consequences.  In fulfilling
its responsibilities, GAO performs original research and uses
hundreds of databases or creates its own when information is
unavailable elsewhere. 

To ensure that GAO's resources are directed toward the most important
issues facing Congress, each of GAO's 32 issue areas develops a
strategic plan that describes the significance of the issues it
addresses, its objectives, and the focus of its work.  Each issue
area relies heavily on input from congressional committees, agency
officials, and subject-matter experts in developing its strategic
plan. 

The Defense Acquisitions issue area covers programs of the Department
of Defense (DOD), the individual military services, and other
supporting defense agencies.  It also is responsible for GAO's work
on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).  Its
work focuses on (1) the justification for new systems; (2)
development and acquisition (or major modification) of weapon and
space systems; (3) DOD's and NASA's budgeting for their procurement
and research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) accounts; (4)
acquisition reform initiatives and reductions in acquisition
infrastructure; and (5) defense technologies and international
competitiveness.  The principal issues in the defense acquisitions
area are

  -- the adequacy of the justifications for systems selected for
     development or modification;

  -- the efficient, effective, and economical acquisition of systems;

  -- assurance that funds budgeted for procurement and for RDT&E can
     be and should be spent as indicated;

  -- cost savings from acquisition reform initiatives and related
     infrastructure reductions; and

  -- the protection of critical defense technologies and the
     enhancement of U.S.  international competitiveness. 

In the pages that follow, we describe our key planned work on these
issues. 

Because events may significantly affect even the best of plans, our
process allows for updating the plan and responding quickly to
emerging issues.  If you have any questions or suggestions about this
plan, please call me at (202) 512-4841. 

Louis J.  Rodrigues
Director
Defense Acquisitions Issues


CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1


   FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1

1


   TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2

4


   TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3

8


   TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4

9


TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
=========================================================== Appendix 2

Issue                         Significance
----------------------------  --------------------------------------------------
Weapon and space systems      Many of the military systems that are in planning
justification: Are DOD and    or under development were designed to counter a
NASA selecting for            Soviet threat that no longer exists. The notion of
development only those        an all-out confrontation in Europe has given way
systems and modifications     to concerns over regional instabilities. In light
that are adequately           of these changes, justifications for weapon
justified?                    systems must be revisited to determine whether the
                              system supports a new strategy focused on regional
                              instabilities and to ensure that the appropriate
                              tradeoffs are being made in the current
                              constrained budget environment. NASA systems need
                              to be considered in light of significant
                              reductions in resources to achieve NASA's
                              mission.





Weapon and space systems      Despite the many attempts at acquisition reform,
acquisition: Are DOD and      significant problems continue to occur. Major
NASA ensuring that systems    commitments to systems are still made before
are being acquired in an      adequate testing ensures that the system will meet
efficient, effective, and     critical performance requirements. Costs for
economical manner?            systems continue to escalate. Some recent systems
                              have doubled in price. Schedules for the delivery
                              of systems continue to slip. New reform
                              initiatives are opening the door to government use
                              of the best acquisition practices in the private
                              sector. Use of these best practices can improve
                              the acquisition process and help ensure that
                              systems are acquired in the most efficient,
                              effective, and economical manner.












Budget analysis: Do           Over $150 billion was requested in fiscal years
acquisition-related budgets   1996 and 1997 for the acquisition of military
reflect current needs and     systems and support items. Analyzing planned
should prior-year funds be    budgetary expenditures is necessary to identify
rescinded?                    those that are unnecessary and those that can and
                              should be delayed.

Acquisition management: Are   The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act and the
DOD and NASA streamlining     Federal Acquisition Reform Act require GAO to
and improving their           evaluate the implementation of several provisions
acquisition processes,        across the federal government. In addition, DOD
practices, and                has numerous reengineering initiatives and pilot
infrastructure while          programs underway designed to further acquisition
ensuring public funds are     reform and is expecting to see reductions in the
properly spent?               acquisition infrastructure. The success of these
                              reform initiatives and reductions in
                              infrastructure are intended to improve the way DOD
                              buys its goods and services and provide DOD a
                              major source of the future funding for its
                              modernization program. At the same time, defense
                              acquisition and DOD and NASA contract management
                              remain high-risk areas for misuse of billions of
                              dollars in public funds.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives                               Focus of work
---------------------------------------  ---------------------------------------
ï¿½ Determine whether the justifications   ï¿½ Justifications of major systems such
for new and modified systems are         as C-17, F-22, V-22, and F/A-18 E/F;
reasonable and logical and support the   helicopter development programs;
national military strategy.              directed energy weapons; precision-
                                         guided munitions; national and theater
ï¿½ Determine whether DOD, the services,   missile defense; the Navy's new arsenal
and NASA have adequately considered      ship; the new attack submarine; and DOD
meeting stated requirements through      and NASA space systems
alternative uses of or modifications to
current systems.

ï¿½ Assess whether accurate cost
estimates are being developed and used
to determine which development programs
should be pursued and which systems
best meet requirements within limited
budgets.

ï¿½ Determine whether DOD, the services,   ï¿½ Acquisitions of major systems such as
and NASA have selected the lowest risk   B-2, F-22, Joint Primary Aircraft
and least costly acquisition strategies  Training System, F-14, B-1B, Comanche,
consistent with the need for the         F/A-18 E/F, and Joint Strike Fighter;
planned system or modification.          DOD and NASA space systems; the
                                         Crusader; Navy systems to improve
ï¿½ Determine whether selected             littoral warfare capability; and
acquisition strategies commit the        digitized battlefield systems
government to production before
sufficient testing is accomplished.

ï¿½ Ensure that key milestone decisions
in the acquisition process are timely
and are adequately supported.

ï¿½ Identify whether technical problems
identified during testing affect the
system's capability and costs.

ï¿½ Determine whether the services and
NASA are incorporating acquisition
reform initiatives into their processes
for acquiring new systems or modifying
current systems.

ï¿½ Determine whether the services and
NASA are using the best acquisition
practices.

ï¿½ Identify items in current budget       ï¿½ Reviews of the RDT&E and procurement
requests that should be considered for   budget accounts for aircraft, C3I,
denial or reduction.                     ships, ground and DOD space systems,
                                         missiles, munitions, ballistic missile
ï¿½ Identify prior-year appropriations     defense, Defense agencies, and NASA
that could be rescinded.                 systems

ï¿½ Evaluate the implementation of         ï¿½ Acquisition reform initiatives such
governmentwide acquisition reform        as the use of off-the-shelf and
legislation and the costs/benefits of    nondevelopmental technology, Federal
new proposals.                           Acquisition Streamlining Act
                                         evaluations, electronic commerce
ï¿½ Identify best commercial acquisition   systems, high-risk area updates,
practices that can be incorporated into  evaluation of best acquisition
the DOD and NASA acquisition             practices, and acquisition
processes.                               infrastructure adjustments

ï¿½ Determine whether the savings that
have been estimated as a result of
acquisition reform and infrastructure
reductions are likely to materialize.

ï¿½ Identify and report internal control
weaknesses in individual systems and in
the acquisition process that result in
fraudulent, wasteful, or abusive
practices in systems acquisitions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue                         Significance
----------------------------  --------------------------------------------------
Technology and                As the defense industrial and technology base
competitiveness: Is DOD       downsizes, pressures increase to export and
appropriately protecting      transfer more advanced, front-line weapons and
technology while promoting    technologies to maintain the base and jobs. The
competitiveness?              challenge is to promote exports that maintain
                              critical industrial capabilities and help reduce
                              unit costs of weapons for DOD while retaining
                              technological leadership and superiority.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Objective                                Focus of work
---------------------------------------  ---------------------------------------
ï¿½ Evaluate the effectiveness of          ï¿½ Reviews of the U.S./Japan FS-X
policies to maintain, promote, and       fighter program, European defense
protect critical defense technologies    consolidation, export controls over
while enhancing U.S. international       human viruses and other biological
competitiveness.                         agents, international cooperative
                                         activities, justifications for certain
ï¿½ Determine whether codevelopment and    technology transfers, and benefits from
coproduction programs have sufficient    international data exchange agreements
benefit to the United States to justify
the risks associated with technology
being transferred overseas.

ï¿½ Identify the effect of international
collaborative efforts such as
cooperative development programs on
DOD's or NASA's ability to fund future
modernization initiatives.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
=========================================================== Appendix 3

Issue                     Planned major job starts
------------------------  ------------------------------------------------------
Weapon and space systems  --C-17 affordability\a
justification             --F/A-18 E/F program\a
                          --Navy's plans to develop an arsenal ship
                          --Directed energy weapons for defense against ships,
                          tactical aircraft, and missiles
                          --Precision-guided munitions acquisition
                          --Airborne laser boost phase intercept program
                          --Navy's upper tier theater missile defense program


Weapon and space systems  --B-2 cost and performance\a
acquisition               --F-22 status\a
                          --F-14 modernization programs
                          --Joint Strike Fighter requirements
                          --Joint Primary Aircraft Training System
                          --Comanche helicopter program
                          --Joint direct attack munition
                          --DOD's space plans, programs, and activities
                          --Army's Crusader program
                          --Navy's acquisition strategy in support of its
                          littoral warfare doctrine
                          --Space station development, operational planning, and
                          management
                          --Army's development of the digitized battlefield


Budget analysis           --DOD and NASA's fiscal year 1997 RDT&E and
                          procurement budget requests for weapon and space
                          systems and intelligence programs\a

Acquisition management    --Savings from acquisition reform\a
                          --Best quality assurance practices\a
                          --DOD's initiative to use commercial off-the-shelf and
                          nondevelopmental item alternatives
                          --Implementation of Federal Acquisition Streamlining
                          Act of 1994
                          --Comparison of military and commercial engineering
                          practices on major systems
                          --Best practices for source selection
                          --Opportunities to reduce excess aviation acquisition
                          infrastructure
                          --High risk update on defense contract management


Technology and            --FS-X fighter program\a
competitiveness           --Sensitive exports to China\a
                          --European defense consolidation
                          --Export controls over human viruses and other
                          biological agents
                          --U.S. benefits from international data exchange
                          agreements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Ongoing assignments


TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
=========================================================== Appendix 4


   DIRECTOR
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 4:1

Louis J.  Rodrigues (202) 512-4841


   ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 4:2

David E.  Cooper
Katherine V.  Schinasi
Thomas J.  Schulz
Thomas J.  Brew (Denver)


   ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 4:3

Davi M.  D'Agostino
Francis P.  Degnan, Jr.
Thomas J.  Denomme
Raymond Dunham
Lee A.  Edwards (Huntsville)
Paul L.  Francis
John K.  Harper
Steven F.  Kuhta
Howard R.  Manning
Robert D.  Murphy (Dayton)
Richard J.  Price
Charles F.  Rey
James K.  Spencer
Clifton E.  Spruill
Robert J.  Stolba
Kevin M.  Tansey
Charles W.  Thompson
Homer H.  Thomson
Karen S.  Zuckerstein

*** End of document. ***