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GAO-24-107556 1 (2024-09-05)

handle is hein.gao/gaoqsm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 September 5, 2024 The Honorable Jack Reed Chairman The Honorable Roger Wicker Ranking Member Committee on Armed Services United States Senate The Honorable Mike Rogers Chairman The Honorable Adam Smith Ranking Member Committee on Armed Services House of Representatives Special Operations Forces: Summary of Armed Overwatch Reports U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is responsible for acquiring a new aircraft called Armed Overwatch and plans to invest over $2 billion in the aircraft through Fiscal Year (FY) 2029. With the Armed Overwatch program, SOCOM seeks to acquire an aircraft capable of conducting strike, close-air support missions in austere environments, and some intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. House Report 117-118, accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, included a provision that we assess SOCOM's Armed Overwatch program.1 In response to this provision, we provided information in two reports.2 To complete these reports we interviewed officials from SOCOM, Air Force Special Operations Command, and Theater Special Operations Commands, among others. We also analyzed information they provided. Our reports address the extent to which the Department of Defense has 1) evaluated SOCOM's analysis to support the number of Armed Overwatch aircraft to acquire and 2) determined the capabilities Armed Overwatch needs to support SOF operations and meet mission needs. In our first report we found that SOCOM was limited in its ability to justify the acquisition of the Armed Overwatch aircraft for three reasons. First, because SOCOM decided on the size of the fleet before conducting required analyses. Second, SOCOM did not assess how changes in the aircraft's capabilities could affect the number needed for operations. And third, that SOCOM has 1H.R. Rep. No. 117-118, at 36-37 (2021). 2GAO, Special Operations Forces: DOD Should Slow Acquisition of Armed Overwatch Aircraft Until It Conducts Needed Analysis, GAO-24-106283, (Washington, D.C.: December 14, 2023) and GAO, Special Operations Forces: DOD Should Reassess Its Need to Acquire Armed Overwatch Aircraft, GAO-24-106993C, (Washington D.C.: September 4, 2024). GAO-24-107556 Page 1

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