Initial production was begun on a Marine Corps acquisition before a test and evaluation plan was in place.

That is the finding of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Defense (DoD) in an audit report issued August 6, 2015.

The OIG’s audit objective was to determine if the Marine Corps was effectively managing the Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) project during the initial production phase. The OIG evaluated the production plan for initial production units and planned developmental testing.

The OIG found the Marine Corps generally managed the G/ATOR program in accordance with Defense acquisition guidelines in that G/ATOR Program Management Office (PMO) officials implemented reliability improvements, planned new semiconductor technology that should reduce costs and improve performance, and obtained the milestone decision authority approval for increased initial production quantities.

However, on March 10, 2014, the milestone decision authority approved the G/ATOR system to begin initial production without an approved Test and Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP).  Officials from G/ATOR PMO and the test community stated that they were coordinating to include the test strategy for new semiconductor technology and a clarified operational reliability requirement in the TEMP.

As a result of the audit, G/ATOR PMO officials plan to complete the TEMP before developmental testing begins in the second quarter FY 2017.  Until the TEMP is updated to include the test strategy for new semiconductor technology and a clarified operational reliability requirement, the G/ATOR program is not ready for additional testing.

View the full audit report at: http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/documents/DODIG-2015-158.pdf

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the