The Department of Defense starts more space and weapons programs than it can afford, pressuring programs to underestimate costs and over-promise capabilities, and it starts space programs prematurely, the Government Accountability Office has said.
It said DoD has also allowed new requirements to be added well into the acquisition phase, and that its space acquisition programs continue to face substantial cost growth that has in some cases exceeded 100 percent without realizing a better return on investment, and schedule overruns of up to six years.
Over the next five years there will be about $12 billion less available for new systems as well as for the discovery of new technologies as a result of cost growth, according to GAO-06-626T.
It said while DoD is pushing to start ambitious new programs such as the transformational satellite and space radar, the nation’s fiscal outlook indicates that spending on weapons systems will need to be reduced, not increased, because of growing deficits.
