From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Missile Defense Description: The Missile Defense Agency has had some ups and downs this past year. Hear what GAO found in the latest report on the MDA. Related GAO Work: GAO-18-324: Missile Defense: The Warfighter and Decision Makers Would Benefit from Better Communication about the System's Capabilities and Limitations Released: May 2018 [ Background Music ] [ Cristina Chaplain: ] Some say it's like hitting a bullet with a bullet, which is extremely hard to do. [ Matt Oldham: ] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm Matt Oldham. While the world was learning about North Korean missile tests last year, the United States accomplished something never done before, the first intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile during a test of the Missile Defense Agency's ground-based defense system. I'm here with Cristina Chaplain, a director in our Contracting and National Security Acquisitions team, to talk about a GAO report on how the Missile Defense Agency has performed in the past year. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Cristina. [ Cristina Chaplain: ] Thank you. [ Matt Oldham: ] So, how safe are we if someone launches an ICBM at the United States? [ Cristina Chaplain: ] I'd say the U.S. is still working on a capability to make us safe and we're making progress in that department. You mentioned the successful intercept of an ICBM-like target last spring. That's a very visible sign of progress, but there's still more work to be done. There's more testing for that particular interceptor. Needs to be tested in more strenuous conditions as well as some more design and producibility efforts that MDA has-- Missile Defense Agency has going on. [ Matt Oldham: ] They don't have an easy job, do they? I mean the Missile Defense Agency. I imagine it's difficult and expensive to test their systems with no room for error, right? [ Cristina Chaplain: ] Right. Some say it's like hitting a bullet with a bullet, which is extremely hard to do, but unlike just having a gun to shoot that bullet, you have a system comprised of multiple pieces that act independently and that they are very complex themselves. You have to knit these together in a way that they can act instantaneously to detect a missile launch, get the missile where it needs to be and when it needs to be, which is extremely complex in and of itself. And on top of that, for testing, there's a lot of logistical challenges. You can just imagine what it takes to clear the airspace over the Pacific Ocean. That's just a sample of what they have to do. [ Matt Oldham: ] So, how have they done this past year? [ Cristina Chaplain: ] As mentioned earlier, you mentioned that ICBM test, that's a very visible sign of progress, probably the most noteworthy one that we discuss in our report. In other areas, there's been mixed progress. They're working on a new interceptor, for example. The first test was successful, the second test was not. Our report also highlights some delays in efforts to actually piece together and knit together the systems, as mentioned earlier, which is very critical to the best performance that you can get out of the missile defense. We also looked at models and simulations that Missile Defense uses to assess their progress and performance. Because testing is so expensive, they have to rely on models to assess performance, but more efforts need to happen to make these models more realistic and they need to be accredited, so we have an issue with that. We also looked at contracting for Missile Defense and found that there's a trend going upward in terms of bringing contractors on and having them begin work before you've really fully defined the terms of that work, the schedule, the cost. When you're in that situation, you can't really hold them accountable for their progress. There's times where you face an urgent situation where that needs to happen, and certainly there's urgency for missile defense, but the upward trend is a concern to us. [ Background Music ] [ Matt Oldham: ] It sounds like the Missile Defense Agency has found success in some of its programs and challenges in others. So, Cristina, what did your team recommend for the agency going forward? [ Cristina Chaplain: ] This year's recommendations focused on things like contracting, definitizing contracts specifically, accrediting their computer models, and also adding-- better communicating what's being delivered to the war fighter in terms of new capabilities. But we also stressed that they continue to implement our past recommendations and those focus on overlapping acquisition activities such as design, production, and testing-- there's been too much overlap in the past -- and also increasing transparency into costs and schedule. [ Matt Oldham: ] Lastly, Cristina, what do you believe is the bottom line of your report? [ Cristina Chaplain: ] I believe the bottom line is there is progress in terms of making us safe from an ICBM attack, which is a good thing, but there are still challenges that remain. And on the technical side, there's challenges such as integrating systems. And on the management side, the primary challenge is balancing urgency against best practices. And we look forward to helping that agency continue to try to do that. [ Matt Oldham: ] Cristina Chaplain is a director in our Contracting and National Security Acquisitions team and she led a GAO report assessing the Missile Defense Agency's performance over the past year. Thank you for your time, Cristina. [ Cristina Chaplain: ] Thank you. [ Background Music ] [ Matt Oldham: ] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. [ Background Music ] [ Matt Oldham: ] For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at gao.gov.