Communications Acquisition
Issues Involving Army's Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System Gao ID: NSIAD-90-80BR March 20, 1990Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the Army's Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) program, focusing on: (1) Army efforts to reduce ground and airborne radio production risks; and (2) the revised SINCGARS acquisition strategy.
GAO found that the Army made changes which reduced acquisition risks, and: (1) slowed the production rate until successful operational tests; (2) rescheduled operational testing to occur 9 months earlier than previously planned; and (3) planned to defer acquisition of 12,375 radios until successful completion of tests. GAO also found that: (1) in response to congressional concerns regarding Army airborne radio production before operational testing was completed, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Army took several steps to reduce program risks; and (2) the outcome of June 1990 performance and reliability tests will dictate DOD and Army officials' full-rate production decision.