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GAO-15-57R 1 (2014-10-08)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaaiiz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAOU.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 October 8, 2014 Congressional Committees National Defense: Department of Defense's Waiver of Competitive Prototyping Requirement for the Navy's Fleet Replenishment Oiler Program The Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, as amended (WSARA), requires the Secretary of Defense to modify defense guidance to ensure that the acquisition strategy for each major defense acquisition program provides for competitive prototypes before Milestone B approval-which authorizes entry into system development-unless the Milestone Decision Authority waives the requirement.1 Competitive prototyping, which involves commercial, government, or academic sources producing early prototypes of weapon systems or critical subsystems, can help Department of Defense (DOD) programs reduce technical risk, refine requirements, validate designs and cost estimates, and evaluate manufacturing processes prior to making major commitments of resources. It can also help reduce the time it takes to field a system, and as a result, its acquisition cost. WSARA states that the Milestone Decision Authority may waive the competitive prototyping requirement only on the basis that (1) the cost of producing competitive prototypes exceeds the expected life-cycle benefits (in constant dollars) of producing such prototypes, including the benefits of improved performance and increased technological and design maturity that may be achieved through competitive prototyping; or (2) but for such a waiver, DOD would be unable to meet critical national security objectives. WSARA also provides that whenever a Milestone Decision Authority authorizes a waiver of the competitive prototyping requirement on the basis of what WSARA describes as excessive cost, the Milestone Decision Authority is required to submit notification of the waiver, together with the rationale, to the Comptroller General of the United States at the same time it is submitted to the congressional defense committees. WSARA further provides that no later than 60 days after receipt of a notification of a waiver, we are to review the rationale for the waiver and submit a written assessment of that rationale to the congressional defense committees.2 1Pub. L. No. 111-23, § 203(a), as amended by the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011, Pub. L. No. 111-383, § 813(b). DOD modified its guidance related to the operation of its acquisition system through Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 09-027, Implementation of Weapon System Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (Dec. 4, 2009, incorporating Change 4, Jan. 11, 2013) which was incorporated into and canceled by Interim DOD Instruction 5000.02, Operation of the Defense Acquisition System (Nov. 25, 2013). Major defense acquisition programs are those estimated by DOD to require, for all increments of the program, an eventual total expenditure for research, development, test, and evaluation of more than $480 million, or for procurement of more than $2.79 billion in fiscal year 2014 constant dollars. The Milestone Decision Authority for major defense acquisition programs is the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, the head of a DOD component, or if delegated the component acquisition executive. 2pub. L. No. 111-23. § 203(b) (2). GAO-1 5-57R T-AO(X) Prototyping Waiver Page 1

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