Defense Acquisitions Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1997-99 (Letter
Report, 05/01/97, GAO/IAP-97-7).

GAO provided information on its Defense Acquisitions issue area plan for
fiscal years 1997 through 1999.

GAO noted that it would assess: (1) the justification for new systems;
(2) development and acquisition (or major modification) of weapon and
space systems; (3) the Department of Defense's and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration's budgeting for their procurement
and research, development, test, and evaluation accounts; (4) the
management of the acquisition process, including acquisition reform
initiatives and reductions in acquisition infrastructure; and (5)
international collaboration and defense trade.

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

 REPORTNUM:  IAP-97-7
     TITLE:  Defense Acquisitions Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1997-99
      DATE:  05/01/97
   SUBJECT:  Defense procurement
             Federal procurement
             Advanced weapons systems
             Space exploration
             Cost control
             Research and development
             Mission budgeting
             Federal downsizing
             International cooperation
             International trade
IDENTIFIER:  F-22 Aircraft
             Advanced Tactical Fighter Aircraft
             V-22 Aircraft
             Osprey Aircraft
             F/A-18E/F Aircraft
             Hornet Aircraft
             DOD Theater Missile Defense Initiative
             Arsenal Ship
             Navy New Attack Submarine Program
             B-2 Aircraft
             Advanced Technology Bomber
             DOD Joint Primary Aircraft Training System
             F-14 Aircraft
             Tomcat Aircraft
             Comanche Helicopter
             RAH-66 Helicopter
             Joint Strike Fighter
             Army Crusader System
             Medium Extended-Range Air Defense System
             Sea-Based Theater Ballistic Missile
             Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles
             Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System
             JSTARS
             Federal Acquisition Computer Network
             FACNET
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


National Security and International Affairs Division

May 1997

DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS ISSUE AREA
PLAN, FISCAL YEARS 1997-99

GAO/IAP-97-7

Defense Acquisitions Issues

(806300)


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

  DOD - Department of Defense
  GAO - General Accounting Office
  JSF - Joint Strike Fighter
  JPATS - Joint Primary Aircraft Training System
  MEADS - medium extended-range air defense system
  NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  RDT&E - research, development, test, and evaluation

FORWARD
============================================================ Chapter 0

The General Accounting Office's goal is to provide unbiased analysis
and timely, accurate information for decisionmakers in the Congress
and executive agencies.  Our work results in such products as
reports, briefings, and testimonies.  The Defense Acquisitions issue
area is 1 of
32 issues for which GAO periodically develops multiyear strategic
plans. 

Relying heavily on consultation with congressional committees, as
well as with industry, academia, and agency officials and other
experts knowledgeable of the issues, GAO develops strategic plans to
ensure that GAO's limited resources are directed at the most
important issues of concern to the Congress.  For each issue area,
GAO's strategic plan describes the significance of the issues, our
objectives, and the focus of our work. 

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)
the management of the acquisition process, including acquisition
reform initiatives and reductions in acquisition infrastructure; and
(5) international collaboration and defense trade.  The principal
issues we cover are the

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

  efficient, effective, and economical acquisition of systems;

  assurance that funds budgeted for procurement and for research,
     development, test, and evaluation can be and should be spent as
     indicated;

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

  the use of international collaboration to acquire weapons in the
     most cost-effective manner. 

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
planning 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
============================================================ Chapter 2

Issue                         Significance
----------------------------  --------------------------------------------------
Weapon and Space Systems      Many of the military systems that are in planning
Justification:                or under development were designed to counter a no
Are DOD and NASA selecting    longer existing Soviet threat. The notion of an
for development only those    all-out confrontation in Europe has given way to
systems and modifications     concerns over regional instabilities. In light of
that are adequately           these changes, justifications for weapon systems
justified?                    must be revisited to determine whether the systems
                              support a new strategy focused on regional
                              instabilities and to ensure that the appropriate
                              trade-offs 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:                  significant problems continue to occur. Major
Are DOD and NASA ensuring     commitments to systems are still made before
that systems are being        adequate testing ensures that the systems will
acquired in an efficient,     meet critical performance requirements. Costs for
effective, and economical     systems continue to escalate. Some recent systems
manner?                       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:              Over $150 billion was requested in fiscal years
Do acquisition-related        1996 and 1997 for the acquisition of military
budgets reflect current       systems and support items. Analyzing planned
needs and should prior-year   budgetary expenditures is necessary to identify
funds be rescinded?           those that are unnecessary and those that can and
                              should be delayed.

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

 Assess whether accurate cost
estimates, including estimates for
operation and support costs, are being
developed and used to determine which
programs should be pursued and which
systems best meet requirements within
limited budgets.

 Determine whether DOD, the services,    Acquisition 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 (JPATS), F-14,
consistent with the need for the         Comanche, F/A-18 E/F, Joint Strike
planned system or modification.          Fighter, DOD and NASA space systems,
                                         Crusader, Navy systems to improve
 Determine whether selected             littoral warfare capability, and
acquisition strategies commit the        digitized battlefield systems.
government to production before
sufficient testing is accomplished.

 Ensure that key milestone decisions
in the acquisition process are timely
and are adequately supported.

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

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

 Determine whether the services and
NASA are using the best acquisition
practices.

 Identify items in current budget        Reviews of the procurement and
requests that should be considered for   research, development, test, and
denial or reduction.                     evaluation budget accounts for
                                         aircraft, C3I, ships, ground and DOD
 Identify prior-year appropriations     space systems, missiles, munitions,
that could be rescinded.                 ballistic missile defense, defense
                                         agencies, and NASA systems.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue                         Significance
----------------------------  --------------------------------------------------
Acquisition Management:       The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act and the
Are DOD and NASA              Federal Acquisition Reform Act require GAO
streamlining and improving    evaluations of several provisions' implementation
their acquisition processes,  across the federal government. In addition, DOD
practices, and                has underway numerous reengineering initiatives
infrastructure while          and pilot programs 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.






International Collaboration   Tightening budget pressures and changes in DOD's
and Defense Trade:            acquisition policies point to an increased role
How can DOD take advantage    for international collaboration in weapons
of the international          acquisition through co-development and production
marketplace to safely         of major systems and buying and selling systems
acquire weapons in the most   and components. International competitive
cost-effective manner?        pressures, including foreign government defense
                              procurement policies, pose new challenges for U.S.
                              companies and government policymakers. U.S.
                              government responses to this complex international
                              environment will be a major factor in safeguarding
                              U.S. technological leadership and in influencing
                              the health of the U.S. defense industry.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives                               Focus of Work
---------------------------------------  ---------------------------------------
 Evaluate the implementation of          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
 Identify best commercial acquisition   systems, high-risk area updates, use of
practices that can be incorporated into  task order contracts and research and
the DOD and NASA acquisition processes.  development contracts as "pass
                                         throughs," evaluation of best
 Determine whether the savings that     acquisition practices and acquisition
have been estimated as a result of       infrastructure adjustments, and the
acquisition reform and acquisition       impact of defense industry
infrastructure reductions are likely to  restructuring.
materialize.

 Identify and report internal control
weaknesses on individual systems and in
the acquisition process that result in
fraudulent, wasteful, or abusive
practices in systems acquisitions.


 Assess DOD's efforts to utilize         Consolidation of the European defense
opportunities for international          sector, cost savings realized by DOD
cooperation in the development and       from sales to non-DOD customers, recent
production of weapon systems.            practices in offset arrangements, and
                                         the medium extended-range air defense
 Examine changes in the international   system (MEADS) co-development program.
defense market and the U.S. government
response and determine their impact on
the competitiveness and capabilities of
the U.S. defense industry and on U.S.
trade policies.


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

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

Issue                    Planned Major Job Starts
-----------------------  -------------------------------------------------------
Weapon and space system  --Navy's plans to develop an arsenal ship.
justifications           --Precision-guided munitions acquisition.
                         --Airborne laser boost phase intercept program.*
                         --Sea-Based Theater Ballistic Missile Defense.*
                         --Intratheater airlift requirements.*
                         --Aircraft investments.*
                         --Unmanned aerial vehicle requirements.

Weapon and space system  --B-2 cost and performance.*
acquisitions             --F-22 status.*
                         --F-14 modernization programs.*
                         --Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) progress.*
                         --Joint Primary Aircraft Training System.*
                         --Comanche Helicopter Program.
                         --Joint direct attack munition.*
                         --DOD's space plans, programs, and activities.
                         --Army's Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles program.
                         --Space station development, operational planning, and
                         management.
                         --Army's development of the digitized battlefield.
                         --Navy's New Attack Submarine.*
                         --Joint STARS.*

Budget analysis          --DOD's and NASA's fiscal year 1998 RDT&E and
                         procurement budget requests for weapon and space
                         systems and intelligence programs.*

Acquisition management   --Savings from acquisition reform.*
                         --Potential savings from industry restructuring.
                         --DOD's initiative to use commercial off-the-shelf and
                         non-developmental item alternatives.
                         --Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act effectiveness.*
                         --DOD's use of multiple award task and delivery order
                         contracts.
                         --R&D contract pass throughs.*
                         --Technology insertion/Advanced Concept Technology
                         Demonstrations.
                         --High-risk updates on defense and NASA.
                         --FACNET.*

International            --European defense consolidation.
collaboration and        --Practices in offset arrangements.
defense trade            --Medium extended-range air defense system co-
                         development program.
                         --Realizing unit cost savings from weapons exports.*
                         --U.S. benefits from international data exchange
                         agreements.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Ongoing assignments. 


TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4


      DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.1

Louis J.  Rodrigues (202) 512-4841


      ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.2

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


      ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.3

Francis P.  Degnan, Jr.
Thomas J.  Denomme
Lee A.  Edwards (Huntsville)
William R.  Graveline (Huntsville)
Paul L.  Francis
John K.  Harper
Steven F.  Kuhta
Robert D.  Murphy (Dayton)
Richard J.  Price
Charles F.  Rey
James K.  Spencer*
Clifton E.  Spruill
Derek B.  Stewart*
Robert J.  Stolba
Kevin M.  Tansey*
Charles W.  Thompson
Homer H.  Thomson
Charles A.  Ward
Karen S.  Zuckerstein










* Staff on detail


*** End of document. ***