DoD Too Slow on Weapon Systems Software Development, GAO Says
Summary
The Defense Department (DoD) needs to pick up the pace on its development and delivery of weapon systems software or face the possibility of Pentagon programs missing out on the benefits of modernization, according to the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) annual assessment of DoD’s weapons acquisitions. In this year’s annual report, GAO analyzed 63 of DoD’s costliest weapon system acquisition programs, including: • 19 programs using the middle tier of acquisition pathway for rapid prototyping and rapid fielding efforts. They are: • Updating DoD’s industrial base assessment instruction to define the circumstances that would constitute a known or projected problem or risk; and • Updating DoD’s industrial base assessment instruction and acquisition policies to specify industrial base assessment requirements that apply to programs using AAF pathways. Last year, GAO’s annual assessment found that DoD was struggling to implement and execute modern software development practices. “However, we found that the majority of programs we surveyed continue to face challenges in executing modern software development practices and many programs we surveyed are challenged in implementing iterative and early cybersecurity assessments.”