Weapon Systems Testing: DOD Needs to Update Policies to Better Support Modernization Efforts

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense (DOD) identified test and evaluation modernization as a crucial part of its effort to get capabilities to warfighters faster. DOD organizations, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military departments, have undertaken modernization planning efforts with varying areas of focus and levels of detail. Nonetheless, these plans share themes, including the use of digital engineering tools and highly skilled workforces.

GAO’s analysis of DOD-wide test and evaluation policies found they were not fully consistent with selected leading practices for product development as applied to test and evaluation: involve testers early, conduct iterative testing, use digital twins and threads, and obtain user feedback iteratively. These policies contained some tenets of the leading practices, particularly for the software acquisition and urgent capability acquisition pathways. However, these leading practices were largely not reflected in the policies for programs in the major capability acquisition and middle tier of acquisition pathways, which account for the majority of DOD spending on weapon systems acquisition.

Key DOD-wide Weapon Systems Testing Policies Fall Short of Selected Leading Practices

Further, GAO found that DOD’s digital engineering policy and the test and evaluation section of DOD’s systems engineering policy do not describe specific processes to ensure application of leading practices to testing.

GAO also found that military department-level test and evaluation policies generally did not reflect the leading practices beyond the level found in DOD-wide policies. GAO similarly found that these leading practices were not reflected in key program documents, like acquisition strategies and test strategies, for selected weapon systems acquisition programs it reviewed.

DOD has a unique opportunity to not only retool its existing test and evaluation enterprise, but to redefine the role that enterprise can play in enabling faster delivery of relevant capabilities to warfighters. Fully incorporating leading practices into policies relevant to weapon system test and evaluation could help pivot the test enterprise’s current reactive role to a proactive one, informing and aiding defense acquisition efforts.

Why GAO Did This Study

DOD has yet to realize its goal to rapidly develop weapon systems to get capabilities to the warfighter when needed. DOD acquisition programs have identified challenges discovered during test and evaluation as contributing to delays in development.

A House committee report includes a provision for GAO to assess how DOD is modernizing weapon system test and evaluation. GAO’s report (1) describes DOD’s plans to modernize test and evaluation to deliver capabilities faster to the warfighter, and (2) assesses the extent to which DOD-wide and military department policies for test and evaluation reflect selected GAO leading practices for product development.

To do this work, GAO assessed DOD test and evaluation modernization plans and policies and weapon system acquisition documentation. GAO visited three military department test organizations to observe tools in practice. GAO also interviewed DOD and military department officials from test organizations and other entities.