Weapon System Sustainment: DOD Identified Critical Cost Growth, and the Army Should Take Action to Yield Cost Savings , April 23 , 2026
Weapon System Sustainment: DOD Identified Critical Cost Growth, and the Army Should Take Action to Yield Cost Savings , April 23 , 2026
From the report: "Operating and support (O&S) costs are comprised of costs for repair parts, maintenance activities, contract services, and personnel. The Department of Defense (DOD) identified 14 systems with critical O&S cost growth out of 36 weapon system sustainment reviews it conducted for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. This critical O&S cost growth represents at least a 25 percent increase in the cost estimate for the remainder of a system’s life cycle compared with its most recent independent cost estimate, or at least a 50 percent increase compared with the original baseline cost estimate. GAO identified common causes DOD reported for the critical O&S cost growth for the 14 systems, such as extensions to operational life.
DOD has taken some actions to address critical O&S cost growth identified in fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2022. However, GAO found the Army has not fully completed a software update that it reported would remediate a top maintenance issue for its Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (CROWS). Doing so would yield cost savings that GAO estimates would be more than $130 million over the program’s remaining approximately 30 years of life. Without ensuring that its units implement the software update identified in the CROWS remediation plan on a timely basis, the Army is missing an opportunity to address a top maintenance issue affecting this weapon system and to achieve a cost savings of more than $130 million over the remaining life of the program."
Authors - Government Accountability Office (GAO)Related Resources
