The Pentagon plans to modernize how it tests new weapon systems as part of a broader effort to expedite capabilities to the battlefield, but a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says current policies do not fully reflect industry best practices.
The Department of Defense (DOD) – rebranded by the Trump administration as the War Department – has identified test and evaluation modernization as a key element of its efforts to speed weapons development.
According to GAO, DOD organizations, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military departments, have developed modernization plans that vary in scope and detail but share common themes, such as expanded use of digital engineering tools and reliance on a highly skilled workforce.
GAO analysts compared DOD testing policies with practices used by leading companies that bring complex products to market quickly through iterative testing methods.
“We found greater government application of leading companies’ practices could improve weapons testing, contributing to faster and more efficient acquisitions,” the report read.
GAO reviewed DOD-wide test and evaluation policies and found they were not fully consistent with selected leading practices for product development when applied to testing. Those practices include involving testers early in development, conducting testing iteratively, using digital twins and digital threads, and obtaining user feedback throughout development.
The federal watchdog did acknowledge that some of those existing testing policies “contained some tenets of the leading practices, particularly for the software acquisition and urgent capability acquisition pathways.”
“However, these leading practices were largely not reflected in the policies for programs in the major capability acquisition and middle tier of acquisition pathways,” the report said, adding that those programs account for most DOD spending on weapon systems.
GAO also found gaps in the department’s digital engineering policy. Additionally, the test and evaluation section of its systems engineering policy does not describe specific processes to ensure that leading testing practices are applied consistently across programs.
At the military department level, GAO found that test and evaluation policies generally did not go beyond DOD-wide guidance in incorporating leading practices. The same was true for key program documents, such as acquisition strategies and test strategies, for the weapon system programs GAO reviewed.
“DOD has a unique opportunity to not only retool its existing test and evaluation enterprise, but to redefine the role that enterprise can play in enabling faster delivery of relevant capabilities to warfighters,” the report stated. “Fully incorporating leading practices into policies relevant to weapon system test and evaluation could help pivot the test enterprise’s current reactive role to a proactive one, informing and aiding defense acquisition efforts.”
The report makes 13 recommendations, including calls for the defense secretary and the secretaries of the Air Force, Army, and Navy to revise test and evaluation policies to better reflect leading product development practices. GAO recommends requiring earlier involvement of testers in acquisition strategies, greater use of iterative testing approaches that use digital tools, and continuous input from end users.
DOD agreed with seven recommendations, partially agreed with five, and rejected one.
The Navy did not concur with GAO’s recommendation to revise its test and evaluation policy to require test strategies and plans that formalize ongoing end-user input, citing existing policy language that directs acquisition programs to collaborate with resource sponsors, requirements officials, fleet operators, and operational testers when defining mission tasks, measures, and conditions.
However, GAO said it continues to believe all 13 recommendations are valid.