Army Acquisition: Problems With the Sense and Destroy Armor Munition
(Letter Report, 11/23/93, GAO/NSIAD-94-59).

The Army's Sense and Destroy Armor (SADARM) Program is developing
"fire-and-forget" submunition capable of destroying self-propelled
howitzers and armored personnel carriers.  The 155-mm SADARM projectile
is not ready for low-rate initial production because it has failed to
meet the Army's reliability standards.  In addition, the Army has not
resolved concerns about the SADARM submunition's reliability and the
contractor's ability to begin production successfully.  The SADARM
program is lagging almost seven years behind schedule.  The Army now
estimates that low-rate initial production will begin in the second
quarter of fiscal year 1996 and that full-rate production will begin in
fiscal year 1998.  The estimated total cost of the SADARM program is
$5.4 billion in then-year dollars.  Although the current estimate
differs little from the Army's original 1986 cost estimate, the Army
will procure 68 percent fewer munitions than originally planned.  The
Army's analysis supporting the continued acquisition of SADARM is narrow
in scope and does not fully support the conclusion that SADARM is the
best way to defeat self-propelled threat artillery.

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

 REPORTNUM:  NSIAD-94-59
     TITLE:  Army Acquisition: Problems With the Sense and Destroy Armor 
             Munition
      DATE:  11/23/93
   SUBJECT:  Army procurement
             Advanced weapons systems
             Munitions
             Production engineering
             Cost analysis
             Future budget projections
             Contractor performance
             Defense operations
             Defense capabilities
             Testing
IDENTIFIER:  Sense and Destroy Armor
             Multiple Launch Rocket System
             MLRS
             
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