Since World War II, DOD has relied primarily on a government-owned  base to meet its conventional ammunition needs. DOD’S Increased Requirements for Small and Medium Caliber Ammunition Primarily Driven by Increased Proficiency Requirements

DOD’s increased requirements for small and medium caliber ammunitions  have largely been driven by increased weapons training requirements,  dictated by the Army’s transformation to a more self-sustaining and lethal  force—which was accelerated after the attacks of September 11, 2001— and by the deployment of forces to conduct recent U.S. military actions in  Afghanistan and Iraq. Since 2000, requirements for small caliber  ammunition have more than doubled, and requirements for medium  caliber ammunition have almost doubled. Between fiscal years 2000 and 2005, total requirements for small caliber  ammunition increased from about 730 million to nearly 1.8 billion rounds  (see figure 2). Between fiscal years 2000 and 2005, medium caliber requirements almost  doubled, from 11.7 million rounds to almost 22 million rounds (see figure  3). The three government-owned, contractor-operated plants that produce  small and medium caliber ammunition were built in 1941. PEO Is Taking Steps to Meet Future Small and Medium Caliber Needs, but Implementation Problems Exist

The PEO has taken certain steps to ensure that the national technology  and industrial base can meet future small and medium caliber ammunition  needs. As part of these efforts, the PEO is attempting to build flexibility  into its acquisition system to address near-term fluctuations in the  requirement for small caliber ammunition. This commercial  producer will serve as a second source in addition to Lake City, to meet  small caliber ammunition needs. A Planning Process for Ammunition Has Been Initiated, but Information Needed for Effective Implementation and Measuring Performance Is Lacking

The PEO has initiated a planning process to ensure that the national  technology and industrial base for conventional ammunition’s capacity  can effectively and efficiently respond to future DOD ammunition needs,  including small and medium caliber ammunition requirements. While DOD has been  able to meet its near-term ammunition requirements, it has had to rely on  foreign suppliers to make up for some shortfalls. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To identify changes over the past several years that have increased the  requirement for small and medium caliber ammunition and assess the  actions DOD has taken to address the increased requirement, we reviewed  documentation and data, and interviewed DOD officials from the Office of  the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics;  the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics  and Technology; the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for  Operations and Plans; the Office of the PEO for Ammunition; and the  Training and Doctrine Command. To determine how DOD plans to ensure that it can meet future small and  medium caliber ammunition needs, we interviewed officials from  previously mentioned DOD offices, including the Office of the PEO for  Ammunition, to determine the status of their planning efforts. industrial base.
Why GAO Did This Study

Following the end of the Cold War, the Department of Defense (DOD) significantly reduced its purchases of small and medium caliber ammunition and reduced the number of government-owned plants that produce small and medium caliber ammunition. Since 2000, however, DOD's requirements for these types of ammunition have increased notably. Because the success of military operations depends in part on DOD having a sufficient national technology and industrial base to meet its ammunition needs, Congress asked GAO to review DOD's ability to assess if its supplier base can meet small and medium caliber ammunition needs. Specifically, we (1) identified changes over the past several years that have increased the requirement for small and medium caliber ammunition, (2) assessed the actions DOD has taken to address the increased requirement, and (3) determined how DOD plans to ensure that it can meet future small and medium caliber ammunition needs.

What GAO Found

DOD's increased requirements for small and medium caliber ammunition over the past several years are largely the result of increased weapons training requirements needed to support the Army's transformation to a more self-sustaining and lethal force--an effort accelerated after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001--and the deployment of forces to conduct recent U.S. military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Between fiscal years 2000 and 2005, total requirements for small caliber ammunitions more than doubled, from about 730 million to nearly 1.8 billion rounds, while total requirements for medium caliber ammunitions increased from 11.7 million rounds to almost 22 million rounds. DOD has initiated several steps to meet the increased demand, including funding about $93.3 million for modernization improvements at the three government-owned ammunition plants producing small and medium caliber ammunition. DOD is currently able to meet its medium caliber requirement through modernization efforts at the government-owned ammunition plants and through contracts with commercial producers. The government-owned plant producing small caliber ammunition cannot meet the increased requirements, even with these modernization efforts. Also, commercial producers within the national technology and industrial base have not had the capacity to meet these requirements. As a result, DOD has had to rely at least in part on foreign commercial producers to meet its small caliber ammunition needs. DOD has taken steps to ensure that the national technology and industrial base can meet future small caliber ammunition needs by building flexibility into the acquisition system to address fluctuations. In addition, a planning process has been put in place to ensure that the base can respond to longer-term DOD ammunition needs, including small and medium caliber ammunition. While the process is ongoing, information to effectively implement the plan and timely performance measures to ensure accountability are lacking.