Troubled missile embodies failures of acquisition reforms.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: UPFRONT

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Air Force officials are considering ending a $6 billion missile program that was once the poster child of the Pentagon's acquisition reform efforts.

A final decision on whether to continue funding production of the joint air-to-surface standoff missile (JASSM) is not expected until next spring. No matter the outcome, the troubles in the decade-long program speak volumes about the unintended consequences of procurement reforms that were supposed to save the Pentagon billions of dollars but have ended up costing dearly.

The Air Force so far has bought 600 of the $700,000 missiles from the prime contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp. Although the company started low-rate production in 2001, the missiles still don't perform as expected, said Maj. Gen. Mark D. Shackelford, director of global power programs at the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition.

Another bugbear is an 18 percent rise in the cost of JASSM, which landed the program in the dreaded "Nunn McCurdy" list of Pentagon acquisitions that Congress says it will terminate unless the Air Force can successfully make a case that the technology is critical to military operations.

The Pentagon estimated that JASSM costs increased by $882.3 million--from $4.9 billion to $5.7 billion. Some of the added cost was attributed to upgraded features, but most of the increase, about $600 million, was to fund a "reliability improvement program" to address the performance shortfalls.

The Air Force is seeking $200 million for JASSM in the fiscal year 2008 budget, but Congress is expected to cut the request by up to 20 percent, as a result of the latest performance failures.

Shackelford characterized the current JASSM woes as "fallout from the age of acquisition reform." The design of the missile was "sound," he said in an interview. But the weapon was rushed to production, and that was when the problems started. "Not fully understanding the configuration of the fully built system has been a weakness," Shackelford said.

A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said the company's agreement to work with the Air Force to improve the reliability of the...