Pentagon continues to ‘struggle’ with key weapons development timelines: GAO

WASHINGTON and DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. — Pentagon leaders are still struggling to meet weapons delivery timelines despite their frequent pledges to get new equipment into troops’ hands more quickly, according to a new government watchdog report. “The overall average time frame to deliver a capability increased this year to over 12 years,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote in a report released today. “Further, several MDAPs [major defense acquisition programs] have not set new delivery dates or are delaying critical interim milestones.” Essentially, that 12-year average may even be optimistic since program officials are not updating the delivery timelines to account for those delays, GAO added. And when it comes to the use of rapid prototyping and fielding pathways — made possible under the Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA) authorities created to either design or field weapons within a five-year timeline — those efforts are also continuing to exceed their deadlines and require more time to develop “immature technologies,” the office added, using an industry phrase for programs that are not yet proven, reliable and ready for broad deployment. GAO’s findings are part of an annual report to Congress assessing the state of weapons systems. This year’s report covers dozens of programs and associated delays. While each development program is unique, GAO made one overarching recommendation this year: the Pentagon should require programs to start with mature technologies and/or develop those immature technologies separately. The department agreed. Here is a look at some of the programs facing delays and cost growth, according to GAO. Air Force GAO called out “significant delays” for the Air Force’s T-7 program, echoing a list of problems laid out in a recent Breaking Defense investigation of the new jet trainer. Although the service made the decision to begin production on the T-7 in April, the majority of developmental testing won’t be done until April 2028, with lower-priority requirements wrapping up even later, in May 2029, the report said. GAO stated the T-7’s delays are “largely a result” of the need to complete additional engineering analysis, “lower than anticipated aircraft availability due to maintenance personnel issues and lack of spare parts,” and longer timelines needed to finalize software. “As a result, program officials stated the developmental program underwent a replan to provide a meaningful training capability to the user,” the report said. On one of the Air Force’s most secretive development efforts — the VC-25B, known colloquially as Air Force One when the president is onboard — GAO noted that the troubled program made some strides, having completed its final configuration design in October. It also resolved several “schedule risks” ranging from resolving cabin pressure issues to hiring more skilled mechanics to build the plane. However, “other schedule risks remain, including the detailed designs for the aircraft interiors,…