Future Procurements of Army's Copperhead Projectile Should Be Contingent on Improvements in Performance and Reliability

Copperhead, a laser-guided, antiarmor projectile entered limited production this year. The Army plans to procure over 44,000 rounds by 1986 at an estimated average cost of over $22,000 per round. GAO reviewed Copperhead's: (1) visibility; (2) response time; (3) development improvements; and (4) reliability.

In a European combat environment, good visibility conditions would more often than not be unattainable. Adverse weather, obstructed terrain features, and certain other obstructions can be expected to restrict opportunities for launching Copperhead. Tests up to this point provide little insight into the effectiveness to be anticipated from Copperhead against moving targets. Two developments may help raise Copperhead's performance to more acceptable levels. A modified seeker, expected to significantly improve Copperhead's performance in smoke, was tested in February 1980 with good results. In addition, digital equipment under development, designed to provide more rapid data transmission and target data computations, is expected to reduce Copperhead's response time. Copperhead's reliability in both operational and development tests were so low that the Secretary of Defense directed initial procurement to be limited to a rate of 200 per month.

Recommendations

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