Light Helicopter Program: Risks Facing the Program Raise Doubts About the Army's Acquisition Strategy
NSIAD-89-72
Published: Dec 23, 1988. Publicly Released: Dec 23, 1988.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the Army's Light Helicopter (LHX) Program to assess: (1) changes and risks in the program's cost estimates and technology development; (2) changes in the program's acquisition strategy; and (3) the Army's progress toward achieving program goals.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
---|---|---|
Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should set program cost goals around more meaningful cost measurements than flyaway costs, such as the cost of an LHX equipped for its primary mission, the unit procurement cost, or both. |
Closed – Not Implemented
The Department of Defense (DOD) believes that flyaway cost, if properly defined, is a good measurement. LHX cost estimates were using an incomplete definition of flyaway costs, erroneously excluding the cost of mission kits. DOD stated that other, more inclusive cost measurements will also be employed for LHX.
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Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should reassess whether LHX warrants a higher priority for more research and development funds within projected resources to pursue an acquisition strategy that provides for the test and evaluation of competitive prototypes, particularly regarding mission equipment, before selecting a winning contractor team and committing the program to full-scale development. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOD disagreed with this recommendation, citing the current strategy as sound and affordable. The GAO position that the current strategy is too risky is unchanged.
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Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should, if the current acquisition strategy is pursued, separate the decision to select the winning contractor from the decision to commit the program to full-scale development by postponing the full-scale development decision until it can be on the basis of the winning contractor's demonstrated performance with prototypes. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD disagreed, claiming a change in strategy was premature until the December 1990 milestone decision. GAO maintains the current strategy is flawed and should be corrected now. In September 1990, DOD revised the LHX acquisition strategy to decouple the full-scale development decision from the contractor selection. It also deferred the development decision until prototypes can be built and tested.
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Topics
Weapons systemsAir defense systemsArmy procurementDefense contingency planningHelicoptersIrregular procurementMilitary aircraftMilitary cost controlResearch and development costsWeapons research and development