The contractors explained in a report issued 60 days after  the June 1997 test that the test achieved its primary objectives, but that  some sensor abnormalities were noted. The project office also relied on Boeing to oversee the  performance of its subcontractor, TRW. Distinguishable Differences in Objects Deployed in Space

Boeing and TRW reported that post-flight testing and analysis of data  collected during Integrated Flight Test 1A showed that deployed target  objects displayed distinguishable features when observed by an infrared  sensor. Decoy Reduction in Later Tests

National Missile Defense program officials said that after considerable  debate among themselves and contractors, the program manager reduced  the number of decoys planned for intercept flight tests in response to a  recommendation by an independent panel, known as the Welch Panel.The panel, established to reduce risk in ballistic missile defense flight test  programs, viewed a successful hit-to-kill engagement as a difficult task  that should not be further complicated in early tests by the addition of  decoys. Evaluation of TRW’s Discrimination Software

The Phase One Engineering Team was tasked by the National Missile  Defense Joint Program Office to assess the performance of TRW’s  software and to complete the assessment within 2 months using available  data. The team reported that although the software had weaknesses, it was well  designed and worked properly, with only some changes needed to  increase the robustness of the discrimination function. Based on its analysis, team members predicted that the software  would perform successfully in a future intercept test if target objects  deployed as expected.
What GAO Found

The Department of Defense (DOD) awarded contracts to three companies in 1990 to develop and test exoatmospheric kill vehicles. One of the contractors--Boeing North American--subcontracted with TRW to develop software for the kill vehicle. In 1998, Boeing became the Lead System Integrator for the National Missile Defense Program, and chose Raytheon as the primary kill vehicle developer. Boeing and TRW reported that the June 1997 flight test achieved its primary objectives, but that some sensor abnormalities were detected. The project office relied on Boeing to oversee the performance of TRW. Boeing and TRW reported that deployed target objects displayed distinguishable features when being observed by an infrared sensor. After considerable debate, the program manager reduced the number of decoys planned for intercept flight tests in response to a recommendation by an independent panel. The Phase One Engineering Team, which was responsible for completing an assessment of TRW's software performance within two months using available data, found that although the software had weaknesses, it was well designed and worked properly, with only some changes needed to increase the robustness of the discrimination function. On the basis of that analysis, team members predicted that the software would perform successfully in a future intercept test if target objects deployed as expected.