Defense Dept.'s Weapons Programs Faulted - GAO Report Cites Cost Overruns, Years-Long Delays in Acqu [View All]

[williesgirl]

Source: Washington Post

The Defense Department's major weapons programs have suffered cost overruns in the billions of dollars, years-long delays and quality shortfalls because of poor acquisition practices by the department, according to a report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office.

The GAO warned that the cost of designing and developing weapons systems could "continue to exceed estimates by billions of dollars" if the Defense Department doesn't improve its acquisition practices.

The report, which focused on 11 troubled weapons programs, said contractors had "poor practices" for systems engineering and relied on "immature designs, inadequate testing, defective parts and inadequate manufacturing controls."

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In addition, the report said, the Pentagon often pays the cost of the contractors' mistakes, providing the companies with little incentive to perform higher-quality work. "Risk," the report said, "is not borne by the prime contractor, but by DOD.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/01/AR2008020103388.html?hpid=sec-business

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Read entire article - this is disgusting.