Weapon Systems Acquisition: DOD Needs Better Planning to Attain Benefits of Modular Open Systems : Government Accountability Office (GAO) , January , 2025
Weapon Systems Acquisition: DOD Needs Better Planning to Attain Benefits of Modular Open Systems : Government Accountability Office (GAO) , January , 2025
From the report: "A modular open systems approach (MOSA) is a strategy that can help the Department of Defense (DOD) design weapon systems that take less time and money to sustain and upgrade. Recent legislation requires acquisition programs to implement a MOSA to the maximum extent practicable. GAO found that 14 of the 20 programs it reviewed reported implementing a MOSA to at least some extent. Other programs cited barriers to doing so, such as added cost and time to conduct related design work. While a MOSA has potential benefits, it may also require programs to conduct additional planning, such as to ensure they address cybersecurity aspects related to a MOSA.
However, none of the 20 programs GAO reviewed conducted a formal analysis of costs and benefits for a MOSA because DOD’s policy does not explicitly require one. As GAO reported in March 2020, program officials often focus on reducing acquisition time and costs. Unless required to consider the costs and benefits of a MOSA, officials may overlook long-term MOSA benefits.
Further, most programs did not address all key MOSA planning elements in acquisition documents, in part, because the military departments did not take effective steps to ensure they did so. As a result, programs may not be well-positioned to integrate a MOSA into key investment decisions early in the life of the program. Also, DOD’s process for coordinating MOSAs across portfolios does not ensure the level of collaboration needed to achieve potential benefits such as lower costs from using common components across programs.
The military departments are statutorily required to ensure availability of certain resources and expertise related to MOSA implementation. However, they have yet to assess their departments’ MOSA needs or determine how resources should be aligned across their respective departments. Until they do this, programs risk having insufficient resources and expertise to achieve the potential benefits of a MOSA."
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