GAO Conducts Multi-Base Review
To compile the report, investigators visited three major testing hubs:
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The Air Force Test Center
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The Army Test and Evaluation Command
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The Navy Operational Test and Evaluation Force
They also conducted interviews with DOD officials, emphasizing the need for testing and evaluation to be treated not as a final checkpoint, but as a foundational component of system development.
Warning Against a Status Quo That Slows the Military
The GAO cautioned that the Department of Defense could continue its current approach—identifying deficiencies only after systems are built and sometimes already produced.
That path, the report warned, keeps the Pentagon stuck in a time-consuming cycle and undermines its stated goal: accelerating new capabilities into the hands of warfighters who rely on them.
“Testing must proactively inform development,” the GAO said, urging the DOD to embrace a culture shift that prioritizes early evaluation as the backbone of weapon modernization.
