The Initial Operational Test and Evaluation was designed to determine whether and to what degree the FMTV could accomplish its mission when operated and maintained by soldiers in the expected operational environment. FMTV Passed Production and Operational Tests

The FMTV’s performance during the recently completed limited production and operational tests significantly improved. The Army test data in tables 1 through 3 reflect the test results that supported the Army’s decision to proceed to full-rate production. Based on the DOT&E data, however, the dump and tractor models did not meet their reliability requirement, and the dump, tractor, and wrecker models did not meet their availability requirement. The vehicles were tested both ways. Test Vehicles Modified Before the Tests

The trucks the contractor provided the Army for its most recent testing may not have been production representative vehicles because (1) either the Army or the contractor modified some test trucks off the production line and/or (2) the contractor tested the trucks and corrected any problems identified prior to delivering the trucks to the Army for testing. The FMTV contract allows the Army to verify that the contractor has corrected the problems identified during testing through tests comparing the quality and performance of full-production trucks with that of the approved final configuration. If the Army’s comparison tests include full-production and retrofitted trucks, it should have adequate assurance that the FMTV trucks continue to meet the Army’s RAM and performance requirements. The Department also noted that the Army plans to perform the comparison tests on both retrofit and new production vehicles to verify that the quality and performance of the vehicles will continue to meet the requirements.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's testing of its Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) to determine whether the FMTV demonstrated that it could meet contractual and operational requirements.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) the FMTV trucks passed technical and operational tests, paving the way for the Army's August 29, 1995, decision to approve full-rate production; (2) following the contractor's modifications of the vehicle to correct deficiencies identified in previous testing, the Army conducted: (a) a limited follow-on technical test to determine whether the trucks could meet contractual reliability and performance requirements; and (b) a full operational test to determine whether it could meet its operational reliability and other mission requirements when operated and maintained by soldiers; (3) the trucks exceeded reliability requirements in both tests and met most performance requirements; (4) in those cases where the performance did not meet requirements, the Army determined that the performance levels were satisfactory; (5) while the FMTV trucks overall performed satisfactorily, many of the technical test vehicles were not produced on the production line and/or were retrofitted to correct past deficiencies; (6) also, the contractor pretested both the technical and operational test vehicles and corrected deficiencies prior to delivering them to the Army for testing; (7) however, the FMTV contract allows the Army to verify that the contractor has corrected the problems identified during testing through tests comparing the quality and performance of full-production trucks with that of the approved final configuration; and (8) if the Army's comparison tests include full-production and retrofitted trucks, it should have adequate assurance that the trucks continue to meet the Army's performance and reliability, availability, and maintainability requirements.