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![handle is hein.gao/gaocrptatuq0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
AGAO
SAcco.Ntab Iy ntegrty R adb, Ity
Higlights
Highlights of GAO-06-955, a report to
congressional committees
Why GAO Did This Study
In1 1997, the Departmnt of Defenlse
(DOD4) iiiatd tIhe Joint Tactlical
RaidioSy stemn (JTRS) priogriamA, a
key celeen of its effort to
tranIIsforml mniiltary operatlions to be
netw\Nork centlric. Using eming-11
software1--definled radio t echnologyi,
the JITRS pr-ogrami phlns todevelop
and pr~ocure hundr-eds offthousaInds
of ra;dios that1 give war11fightervIs the
capambility toaccess ma1;ps and otheri
visual data, communtnicate viaI voice(
and video, anid obtain informat:1ionl
dirctly fr-oml battIlefield sensors.
The JTRS pr-ogram ha Is
ecoun litere1d at numllber of,
pr~oblemis, r-esuting in signlificant11
delay\s and costl increaises. The
prIogr 1am is currently e'st iatded to
totl akbout $37 billion. Given the
crit ica dlty of-JTR'S t o DOD's force
tr-ansforimtionl, Congiress dir-ected
GA to con t inue its, ongicoing rev.\iew
of the JTRS pr-ogramti. This report
(1Issesses whte a1 o] recentd
re(sltuctur0ig put11s thI e program11 in a
better position to succeed and (2)
ident ifies any1 risks tha callng
the successful fielding of STRS.
GAOV is imkingi recommilendions
a1imed1 at ensur-ing thatl the activities
req1uired for- coleting the JTRS
rest ruct uring reflect stal
requItirementcs, knowledge based
acusition strategies,relsi
costs, anid com11prehensive testl
plan1s, as well a1s to deve(Ilp lanls
for fielding JTRS ra;dios, Ini
commentciling onl; a draft of this
r-eport, DOD)I agreed w\ith thlese
reco0mmen1 da t ion s.
www.gao.gov/cgi-biri/getrpt?GAO-06-955.
To view the full product. including the scope
and methodology. click on the link above.
For more information. contact Paul L. Francis
at (202) 512-4841 or francisp (cgao.gov.
DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS
Restructured JTRS Program Reduces
Risk, but Significant Challenges Remain
What GAO Found
The proposed JTRS restructuring-a plan DOD approved in March 2006-
appears to address and reduce program risks that GAO and others have
documented in recent years. While still meeting key requirements, including
those related to DOD's network centric transformation effort, the revised
approach is expected to develop and field capabilities in increments rather
than attempting to develop and field the capabilities all at once. Costly and
non-transformational requirements will be deferred to later increments.
Deferring these requirements will allow more time to mature critical
technologies, integrate components, and test the radio system before
committing to production. JTRS program management has also been
strengthened through the establishment of a Joint Program Executive Office
(JPEO). The more centralized management structure should help the
program improve oversight and coordination of standards, system
engineering, and development of the radios.
The real test will be in execution, and, for that, several management and
technical challenges remain. First, JPEO must finalize the details of the
restructuring, including formal acquisition strategies, independent cost
estimates, and test and evaluation plans. DOD also needs to develop
migration and fielding plans for how JTRS networking capabilities will be
used. Completing and obtaining DOD's approval of these activities is needed
to ensure the JTRS program is executable. There are also a number of
longer-term technical challenges that the JTRS program must address. For
example, the proposed interim solutions for enabling network
interoperability among different JTRS variants have yet to be developed. In
addition, integrating the radio's hardware onto diverse platforms and
meeting respective size, weight, and power limitations has also been a long-
standing challenge that must be overcome. Furthermore, operating in a
networked environment open to a large number of potential users has
generated an unprecedented need for information assurance. This need has
resulted in a lengthy, technically challenging, and still evolving certification
process from the National Security Agency. At the same time, the program
must address the need to obtain and sustain commitments and support from
the military services and other stakeholders-a challenge that has often
hampered joint development efforts in the past. The extent to which DOD
overcomes these challenges will determine the extent to which the program
manages cost, schedule, and performance risks and supports JTRS-
dependent military operations.
.United States Government Accountability Office](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.gao/gaocrptatuq0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)