U S Government Accountability Office

Ballistic missile defense U S Government Accountability Office

September 2009, the Presidentannounced a revised approach forballistic missile defense (BMD) inEurope. The European PhasedAdaptive Approach (EPAA) isdesigned to defend against existingand near-term ballistic missile threatsand build up defenses over fourphases as threats mature and newBMD technologies become available. Although the approach will includecapabilities such as radars and landandsea-based BMD assets, theDepartment of Defense (DOD) hasnot yet established EPAA life-cyclecosts. EPAA is DOD's firstimplementation of its new, regionalapproach to BMD. GAO was asked to evaluate DOD?splans for implementing EPAA. GAOreviewed the extent to which: (1) DOD has developed guidance andaddressed management of cost andschedule for EPAA, and (2) DODplanning for EPAA is informed byoperational performance data. GAOreviewed key legislation, policy andguidance, and initial plans forimplementation and asset allocation.