Missile Defense: Knowledge-Based Decision Making Needed to Reduce Risks in Developing Airborne Laser

摘要

In January 2002, the Secretary of Defense announced broad changes to the department's strategy for developing and acquiring missile defense systems. Specifically, the Defense Secretary designated the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization as the Missile Defense Agency and granted the agency expanded responsibility and authority. The Secretary directed the agency to develop an integrated system with various elements that have the capability to attack enemy missiles in all phases of their flight, transition responsibility for the production and fielding of systems to the individual services, and encourage incremental improvements by inserting new technologies through a series of block upgrades. The Airborne Laser is one of many systems affected by the new strategy. You asked us to determine (1) why the systems development is costing more and taking longer than the Air Force originally estimated and (2) whether the Missile Defense Agency's new strategy for developing the Airborne Laser incorporates the practices that characterize successful programs.