From R&D to Weapons in the US Military: GAO’s 2006 Review

On Sept. 14, 2006, the US Government Accountability Office released report # GAO-06-883: “Best Practices: Stronger Practices Needed to Improve DOD Technology Transition Processes.” The report’s home page reads:

“The Department of Defense (DOD) relies on its science and technology community to develop innovative technologies for weapon systems, spending $13 billion on basic, applied, and advanced technology research. Several GAO reports have addressed problems in transitioning technologies to the acquisition community. This report, which was prepared under the Comptroller General’s authority to conduct evaluations, compares DOD’s technology transition processes with commercial best practices. Specifically, GAO identifies technology transition techniques used by leading companies [DID: actually just 3M, Boeing, IBM, and Motorola] and assesses the extent to which DOD uses the techniques…”