Army Armored Systems: Advanced Field Artillery System Experiences
Problems With Liquid Propellant (Letter Report, 11/02/94,
GAO/NSIAD-95-25).

In developing its Advanced Field Artillery system, the Army decided to
use a liquid propellant rather than a solid or powder propellant, which
has traditionally been used in such guns.  GAO found that the Army's
most advanced liquid propellant gun was severely damaged during a recent
test firing.  The Army has suspended all live-fire testing with its most
advanced gun until the cause of the explosion is found and corrected.
However, in order to maintain the current schedule, the Army has decided
to seek the Defense Acquisition Board's approval to proceed into the
next development phase without additional live-fire test data and has
requested nearly $61 million to continue into the next phase of the
gun's development.  This approach will allow the Army to demonstrate the
program's readiness to process into the demonstration and validation
phase even though it (1) has not corrected the problem that caused the
explosion and (2) uses a technology that cannot now meet the system's
required rate-of-fire.  The Army's current acquisition strategy calls
for the concurrent development of the unicharge gun as a prudent risk
management backup for the Advanced Field Artillery system. However, the
Army's current budget request states that funding for this alternative
will end after fiscal year 1995.

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

 REPORTNUM:  NSIAD-95-25
     TITLE:  Army Armored Systems: Advanced Field Artillery System 
             Experiences Problems With Liquid Propellant
      DATE:  11/02/94
   SUBJECT:  Advanced weapons systems
             Defense capabilities
             Firearms
             Ammunition
             Systems evaluation
             Testing
             Army procurement
             Agency missions
             Defense budgets
             Mission budgeting
IDENTIFIER:  Advanced Field Artillery System
             
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