Pentagon Big Guns Late, Way Over Budget

Overruns hit $295B, says GAO report
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 1, 2008 12:46 PM CDT
Pentagon Big Guns Late, Way Over Budget
This photo provided by the US Navy, Thursday Sept. 21, 2006 shows the first Littoral Combat Ship, Freedom (LCS 1) under construction.   (AP Photo/Lockheed Martin Corporation, file)

Some 95 of the Pentagon's biggest weapons systems are a total of $295 billion over budget and arrive an average of 2 years late, according to the Government Accountability Office. But GAO auditors say the Pentagon is getting sloppier, not better, reports the Washington Post. "It's taking longer and costing more," says a GAO director.

"In most cases, programs also failed to deliver capabilities when promised—often forcing war fighters to spend additional funds on maintaining" existing systems, the report says. Since 2000, the Pentagon has doubled the funds allocated to new weapons systems. "We'd like to look at what GAO has said, and then at the appropriate time make an informed comment," says a Pentagon spokesman. (More Government Accountability Office stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X