A new look at an old problem: the Pentagon’s weapons procurement

The Government Accountability Office is out with its latest assessment of the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons programs. It’s the 20th annual edition. GAO says it’s seen some improvement in DoD’s management of major acquisition programs during that time, but cost and schedule growth are still huge problems. And while every program’s unique, one common theme is that DoD tends to commit itself to big systems before it has enough information about technology risks and cost estimates. Shelby Oakley is Director of Contracting and National Security Acquisitions at GAO. She talked with Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu about some of the trends in this year’s report.