Report examining growth in operating and support (O&S) costs of major DOD weapons systems, and identifying measures to improve DOD ability to manage and reduce O&S costs of weapons systems over their life cycle.
"The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars each year to sustain its weapon systems. These operating and support (O&S) costs can account for a significant portion of a system's total life-cycle costs and include costs for repair parts, maintenance, and personnel. The Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 directs GAO to review the growth in O&S costs of major systems. GAO's report addresses (1) the extent to which life-cycle O&S cost estimates developed during acquisition and actual O&S costs are available for program management and decision making; (2) the extent to which DOD uses life-cycle O&S cost estimates after systems are fielded to quantify cost growth and identify its causes; and (3) the efforts taken by DOD to reduce O&S costs for major systems. GAO selected seven aviation systems that reflected varied characteristics and have been fielded at least several years. These systems were the F/A-18E/F, F-22A, B-1B, F-15E, AH-64D, CH-47D, and UH-60L. "
Defense Management: DOD Needs Better Information and Guidance to More Effectively Manage and Reduce Operating and Support Costs of Major Weapon Systems
Some DoD weapon systems remain in the inventory for decades. Therefore, decisions that program officials make during the acquisition process to acquire or not acquire rights to technical data (TD) can have far-reaching implications for DoD's ability to sustain and competitively procure parts and services for those systems. DoD needs access to TD to control costs, maintain flexibility in acquisition and sustainment, and maintain and operate systems. This report reviews the extent to which: (1) DoD has updated its acquisition and procurement policies; (2) selected acquisition programs adhered to requirements to document TD needs; and (3) DoD took actions to improve TD decisions by program managers. Illus. This is a print on demand report.
This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. As one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, the DoD faces many challenges in resolving its pervasive and long-standing financial mgmt. and related business operations and systems problems. DoD is required by various statutes to: (1) improve its financial mgmt. processes, controls, and systems to ensure that complete, reliable, consistent, and timely info. is prepared and responsive to the financial info. needs of agency mgmt. and oversight bodies; and (2) produce audited financial statements. This statement provides a perspective on DoD's current efforts to address its financial mgmt. weaknesses and achieve auditability, including the status of its Enterprise Resource Planning system implementations. Charts and tables.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency, and Financial Management
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
