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Live Fire Testing: Evaluating DOD's Programs

PEMD-87-17 Published: Aug 17, 1987. Publicly Released: Aug 17, 1987.
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Highlights

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Live Fire (JLF) Test Program to determine: (1) the status of each munition and system scheduled for testing; (2) the methodological quality of the test and evaluation process; (3) the advantages and limitations of full-up, live-fire testing; and (4) needed improvements.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should: (1) conduct full-up tests of developing systems, first at the subscale level as subscale systems are developed, and later at the full-scale level mandated in the legislation; (2) establish guidelines on the role live-fire testing will play in procurement; (3) establish guidelines on the objectives and conduct of live-fire testing of new systems, with particular attention to clarifying what is to be expected from the services; and (4) ensure that the primary users' priorities drive the objectives of live-fire tests. Modelers are secondary users.
Closed – Implemented
New guidance was written.
Department of Defense Recent live-fire legislation requires the services to provide targets for testing new systems, but there is no similar requirement for the fielded systems in JLF, where lack of targets has impeded testing. Accordingly, the Secretary of Defense should provide more support to JLF for obtaining targets.
Closed – Not Implemented
The JLF program was completed.

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Topics

Combat readinessEvaluation costsMilitary materielMonitoringMunitionsProgram managementTestingAircraft acquisition programOperational testingMilitary forces