WASHINGTON -- A congressional audit of the Bush administration's efforts to build a nationwide defense against ballistic missile attack warned yesterday that the system, due to be fielded later this year, will be "largely unproven" because of a lack of realistic testing.
The report, by the General Accounting Office, said the eight flight intercepts attempted so far have been largely "repetitive and scripted" and that critical parts of the system have yet to be flight-tested together.
Some elements that were to be part of the initial deployment phase have been deferred because of developmental glitches and production delays, the report noted. Nevertheless, the cost in 2004 and 2005 for developing and fielding the initial system -- which is to include 20 missile interceptors along with several ground- and sea-based radars -- rose by $1.12 billion to $7.36 billion over the past year, the report disclosed.
The report faulted the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, saying it frequently shifted goals and provided incomplete information about costs and performance to Congress.
The report's title -- "Actions Are Needed to Enhance Testing and Accountability" -- summed up GAO's concerns.
A number of the report's findings echo earlier reviews by the GAO and others, but the study represents the most extensive assessment so far by the agency, an investigative branch of Congress. It occurs as the Pentagon is preparing to start lowering the first interceptor missiles into newly built silos in Alaska and California and to declare the system operational during the summer or autumn.
Construction of the system has been a high priority for the Bush administration, which is pursuing a series of antimissile technologies with the goal of erecting a network of defenses to target warheads in various stages of flight. Funding for these projects has absorbed more research and development dollars than any military program -- more than the Army's entire research and development budget. The administration's request for fiscal 2005 tops $10 billion.