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Open Recommendations

Weapon Systems Acquisition: DOD Needs Better Planning to Attain Benefits of Modular Open Systems
GAO-25-106931
Jan 22, 2025
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14 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure the Under Secretaries of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and Research and Engineering, in coordination with the Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, develop a method for program offices to use when assessing the costs and benefits of pursuing a MOSA on weapon systems. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics and the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration identify steps needed during the review of relevant acquisition documentation to effectively determine whether programs have addressed key MOSA planning elements required by statute, policy, and guidance. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) identifies steps needed during the review of relevant acquisition documentation to effectively determine whether programs have addressed key MOSA planning elements required by statute, policy, and guidance. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition identifies steps needed during the review of relevant acquisition documentation to effectively determine whether programs have addressed key MOSA planning elements required by statute, policy, and guidance. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure PEOs within the department establish a formal process for coordinating MOSAs across programs to enable portfolio-wide benefits. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should ensure PEOs within the department establish a formal process for coordinating MOSAs across programs to enable portfolio-wide benefits. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

National Nuclear Security Administration: Assessments of Nuclear Weapon Acquisitions
GAO-25-106048
Dec 17, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Nuclear Security Administration The NNSA Administrator should ensure that the Office of Defense Programs documents, in a formal and comprehensive manner, the process that its nuclear weapon acquisition programs must follow to identify which of their technologies are critical technologies. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Navy Ship Modernization: Poor Cruiser Outcomes Demonstrate Need for Better Planning and Quality Oversight in Future Efforts
GAO-25-106749
Dec 17, 2024
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that Commander, NAVSEA updates policy requiring NAVSEA 21 to consider requiring that future large-scale modernization and maintenance efforts implement planning and oversight tools used in acquisition programs. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should codify the cruiser modernization lesson learned that the ownership of vessels should not be transferred from the fleet to NAVSEA for major modernization efforts. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should direct the Chief of Naval Operations and Commander, NAVSEA to assess root causes of cruiser modernization growth work, develop root cause mitigation strategies, codify the strategies in policy, and apply them to other surface ship maintenance and modernization efforts. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should direct Commander, NAVSEA to re-assess its approach to overall quality assurance, including restrictions on the use of critical quality assurance tools, completion of CPARS evaluations, and the lack of an independent organization to oversee quality at RMCs, to ensure contractors are held accountable for quality. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should direct Commander, NAVSEA and the Chief of Naval Operations to assign specific responsibility and accountability for implementing, in a timely manner, the corrective actions identified in the 2024 NAVSEA report about modernization on surface ships. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Chief of Naval Operations documents a comprehensive assessment on operational implications of its plan to divest the three modernized cruisers in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

DOD Acquisition Reform: Military Departments Should Take Steps to Facilitate Speed and Innovation
GAO-25-107003
Dec 12, 2024
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should revise its acquisition policies and relevant guidance to reflect leading practices that facilitate speed and innovation, using continuous iterative cycles that ensure the design meets user needs, the development of a minimum viable product, and the optimization of processes to produce further iterations. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should revise its acquisition policies and relevant guidance to reflect leading practices that facilitate speed and innovation, using continuous iterative cycles that ensure the design meets user needs, the development of a minimum viable product, and the optimization of processes to produce further iterations. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should revise its acquisition policies and relevant guidance to reflect leading practices that facilitate speed and innovation, using continuous iterative cycles that ensure the design meets user needs, the development of a minimum viable product, and the optimization of processes to produce further iterations. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should designate one or more new cyber-physical capabilities as pilot programs that provide lessons learned on using leading practices to facilitate speed and innovation for programs on each acquisition pathway directly related to weapon systems. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should designate one or more new cyber-physical capabilities as pilot programs that provide lessons learned on using leading practices to facilitate speed and innovation for programs on each acquisition pathway directly related to weapon systems. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should designate one or more new cyber-physical capabilities as pilot programs that provide lessons learned on using leading practices to facilitate speed and innovation for programs on each acquisition pathway directly related to weapon systems. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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