Missile Development

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) written certification of the current status and future costs of the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) program.

GAO found that: (1) there continue to be uncertainities about the cost, schedule, and performance of the AMRAAM program; (2) DOD certification of the AMRAAM program reflected a number of assumptions which may cumulatively reduce the chance of achieving the program's cost estimate; (3) several flight tests have been conducted to determine whether the missile will perform in accordance with development specifications; and (4) although DOD reviewed flight testing, simulation, and basic design data before it certified that system performance had not been degraded, some early test missiles deviated from contract specifications. GAO found that: (1) the certification of the current status and future cost of the AMRAAM program complied with the DOD Authorization Act of 1986; (2) some of the matters, which DOD certified, involved matters of judgment and future forecasting; and (3) there was no legal basis to object to the release of AMRAAM funds held in reserve pending certification because of disagreements with DOD conclusions or judgments.