GAO Report Faults Missile Defense Agency for Insufficient Testing, Providing Incomplete Cost Estimates

The U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System may not have undergone sufficient testing to ensure it would function adequately during an actual missile attack, according to a congressional study released Friday (see GSN, April 23).

The report, prepared by the General Accounting Office, calls for realistic testing of the system prior to deployment, as well as more thorough long-term cost estimates.

“In exercising their oversight and funding responsibilities, decision makers in Congress and [the Defense Department] would benefit from having more information about the expected performance and costs of the BMDS,” a summary of the report says.

The report states that the program would cost $53 billion between 2004 and 2009, based on Missile Defense Agency estimates. The report also says several programs are over budget or delayed. It criticizes the military’s development strategy, saying the program lacks milestones and estimates of total costs over the lifetime of the initiative (GAO report, April 23).

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