Brilliant Antiarmor Submunition: Opportunity Exists to Conduct Critical Test Prior to Production Decision
NSIAD-98-16
Published: Oct 30, 1997. Publicly Released: Dec 01, 1997.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided its assessment of the Army's brilliant antiarmor submunition (BAT), for which the Army plans to request authority to start low-rate initial production in December 1997, focusing on the status of its acquisition plans and whether it is technically ready to enter production.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Army | Given the criticality of the dispense to the brilliant antiarmor submunition program, the Secretary of the Army should require the program office to demonstrate that qualified tactical submunitions can be successfully dispensed from the ATACMS Block II missile before seeking a low-rate initial production decision on the submunition program. |
Based at least in part on GAO's input, the Defense authorization committees eliminated the BAT procurement budget request of $85.208 million for fiscal year 1998. Also, according to the Army, the BAT program was restructured and the low-rate production decision delayed by 1 year to allow more time for development and testing prior to production.
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Topics
Air defense systemsConcurrencyMissilesMunitionsProduct evaluationTestingWeapons research and developmentU.S. ArmyMilitary forcesBrilliant antiarmor submunition