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GAO-23-106341 1 (2023-03-30)

handle is hein.gao/gaookm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 March 30, 2023 Congressional Committees Weapon System Sustainment: The Army and Air Force Conducted Reviews and the Army Identified Operating and Support Cost Growth The Department of Defense (DOD) spends tens of billions of dollars annually to sustain its weapon systems, from aircraft to ships to ground combat vehicles. These dollars are meant to ensure that these weapon systems are available to simultaneously support today's military operations and maintain the capability to meet future defense requirements. Operating and support (O&S) costs historically account for approximately 70 percent of a weapon system's total life-cycle cost, which is the cost to operate and sustain the system from initial operations through the end of its life. Included in the costs are repair parts, depot and field maintenance, contract services, engineering support, and personnel, among other things. Weapon systems are costly to sustain in part because they often incorporate a complex array of technical subsystems and components and need expensive repair parts and logistics support to meet required readiness levels. In 2016, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 included a provision requiring the military departments to conduct sustainment reviews for major weapon systems within 5 years of declaring initial operational capability and throughout their life cycle to assess their product-support strategy, performance, and O&S costs.1 In 2021, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 amended this sustainment review provision by adding sustainment review reporting requirements for all covered systems (hereafter referred to in this report as weapon systems).2 Specifically, the act amended the sustainment review provision to require each review to assess execution of the life-cycle sustainment plan of the weapon system and require that the secretary of each military department annually provide the sustainment reviews conducted on a weapon system to the congressional defense committees.3 1Pub. L. No. 114-328, § 849(c) (2016) (codified, as amended, at 10 U.S.C. § 4323(a)). Initial operational capability is generally a point in time when some organizations in the force structure scheduled to receive a system have received it and have the ability to employ and maintain it. 2Pub. L. No. 116-283, § 802(c) (2021) (codified at 10 U.S.C. § 4323). The statute as amended also stated that the secretaries of the military departments shall conduct sustainment reviews within 5 years of declaring initial operational capability and every 5 years thereafter throughout the life cycle of the system. 10 U.S.C. § 4323(a). The statute defines a covered system as 1) a major defense acquisition program as defined in section 4201 of title 10, U.S. Code or 2) an acquisition program or project carried out using the rapid fielding or rapid prototyping acquisition pathway under section 804 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 that is estimated by the Secretary of Defense to have an eventual total expenditure of more than $300 million for research, development, test, and evaluation or $1.8 billion for procurement (dollar amounts are in fiscal year 1990 constant dollars). 10 U.S.C. § 4324(d)(5). 3Pub. L. No. 116-283, § 802(c) (2021) (codified, as amended, at 10 U.S.C. § 4323(b), (d)). GAO-23-106341 Weapon System Sustainment Page 1

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