Army Acquisition

The Army's Sense and Destroy Armor (SADARM) Program is developing "fire-and-forget" submunition capable of destroying self-propelled howitzers and armored personnel carriers. The 155-mm SADARM projectile is not ready for low-rate initial production because it has failed to meet the Army's reliability standards. In addition, the Army has not resolved concerns about the SADARM submunition's reliability and the contractor's ability to begin production successfully. The SADARM program is lagging almost seven years behind schedule. The Army now estimates that low-rate initial production will begin in the second quarter of fiscal year 1996 and that full-rate production will begin in fiscal year 1998. The estimated total cost of the SADARM program is $5.4 billion in then-year dollars. Although the current estimate differs little from the Army's original 1986 cost estimate, the Army will procure 68 percent fewer munitions than originally planned. The Army's analysis supporting the continued acquisition of SADARM is narrow in scope and does not fully support the conclusion that SADARM is the best way to defeat self-propelled threat artillery.

GAO found that: (1) the SADARM projectile is not ready for low-rate initial production because the munition has not demonstrated the required level of reliability during development testing and the Army has not resolved concerns regarding the contractor's production ability; (2) the SADARM program is nearly 7 years behind the Army's original production schedule; (3) the Army estimates that low-rate initial production will begin in 1996 and full-rate production will begin in 1998; (4) although the total cost of the SADARM program is estimated at $5.4 billion, the Army will procure about 68 percent fewer munitions than originally planned; and (5) the Army's justification for SADARM does not fully support its conclusion that SADARM is the best way to defeat self-propelled threat artillery.