Missile Development

TSSAM Production Should Not Be Started as Planned Gao ID: NSIAD-94-52 October 8, 1993

Under development for 7 years at a cost of nearly $15 billion, the Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile (TSSAM) program is developing a low observable, medium-range cruise missile for the Air Force, Army, and Navy. The program has been plagued by development problems, cost growth, and schedule delays. GAO concludes that the TSSAM system has yet to prove its ability to work under operational conditions. Major critical subsystems continue to be beset by technical problems, which have delayed the flight test program. Development problems, testing delays, and reduced quantities of missiles planned for production have boosted the unit cost of the TSSAM system even though cost-reduction measures have trimmed the size of the development program. The Air Force requested nearly $196 million in fiscal year 1994 to fund the combined effects bomblets variant but has no plans to finish testing the missiles before starting production. GAO recommends that TSSAM production be stopped until all critical pieces of the bomblet variant have been developed and adequately tested, including both the hardware and software. GAO also recommends that the performance of the TSSAM be tested under realistic conditions and include all the required software needed to operate the missile.

GAO found that: (1) the TSSAM system has experienced significant testing delays and has not demonstrated its operational effectiveness because of persistent technical problems in its critical subsystems; (2) TSSAM will not meet its planned production schedules unless flight testing increases substantially; (3) although cost-reduction efforts have reduced the scope of the development program, TSSAM unit costs have increased significantly due to developmental problems, testing delays, and a reduction in missile quantities; (4) the Air Force's 1994 funding requests for TSSAM variants and subsystems total $195.9 million; (5) the Air Force does not plan to complete operational testing on TSSAM variants and other subsystems before starting low-rate initial production on TSSAM; and (6) TSSAM initial production is not warranted, since the Air Force has not resolved developmental, technical, testing, and software problems.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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