GAO RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT NAVY HESITANCY ON INTEROPERABLE WARHEADS

The Navy’s hesitancy to begin work studying an interoperable warhead that could be used to replace the W88 and W78 warheads is endangering the project’s schedule, according to a Government Accountability Office report released late Friday. The National Nuclear Security Administration and the Air Force have been studying the concept since 2010, but the Navy has made no secret that it has other priorities, like the W76 and the W88 alt, in addition to having concerns about the feasibility of the interoperable warhead concept. The Navy did not request funds to participate in the study during Fiscal Year 2013, forcing the Pentagon to request to reprogram $3 million, and it hasn’t identified long-term funds for the project beyond the study, which the GAO said makes its commitment to the program “uncertain.”

The GAO said the Navy’s lack of involvement in the study had already delayed a Project Officers Group review of key requirements, engineering analyses and design decisions until FY 2014. If the Nuclear Weapons Council was to approve the W78/88-1 interoperable design, the GAO said it’s unclear whether the Navy would be in a “position to test and certify the resulting design or take other steps needed to prepare it for deployment.” In response to a GAO recommendation, the NNSA and Department of Defense said they were revamping procedures that would require the Air Force and Navy to align their resources and planning at the beginning of the concept or feasibility studies.