GAO: Jury still out on missile program performance
The inability of the Missile Defense Agency to establish clear baselines for its ballistic missile defense system is making it difficult for government auditors to determine whether the program is on track, reports Aviation Week.
In a report to Congress released March 16, the Government Accountability Office said the MDA has had problems establishing baselines for total costs or unit costs, which makes it nearly impossible for the auditing agency to determine MDA’s actual costs for the sixth straight year.
The GAO recommends that MDA improve its cost and test baselines; tie modeling and simulation needs into test objectives; provide more time to analyze tests; and synchronize development, manufacturing and fielding with testing and validation schedules.