Weapon Systems Annual Assessment: Requiring Mature Technologies Could Enable Shift to Rapid Delivery

What GAO Found The Department of Defense (DOD) continues to struggle to deliver technologies quickly and within budget. Since its last annual assessment, GAO found: Programs are delaying interim events and milestones for some of the costliest major defense acquisition programs (MDAP). DOD has increased its use of the middle tier of acquisition (MTA) rapid prototyping and fielding pathways—intended to be completed in 5 years.