Pentagon still has problems getting latest weapons to soldiers to 'counter adversaries,' report

The Department of Defense despite recent reforms efforts continues to face challenges in trying to get new weapons to the battlefield, according to a new federal oversight report.

More than half of the 26 major defense acquisition programs reported new delays. At the same time, net costs increased by $37 billion, the Government Accountability Office report found.

"The Department of Defense continues to face challenges quickly developing innovative new weapons," the report reads. "These challenges persist even with recent reforms to its acquisition process intended to help deliver systems to the warfighter in a timelier manner."

The delays affect some the military's most expensive weapon systems and every branch of the military, including Space Force.

In 2020, the department revamped its acquisition policies. The policy changes were in response in part to longstanding concerns from some members of Congress that the defense acquisition process was "overly bureaucratic and too slow," according to the report.

Among the "driving factors" cited in the report are supplier disruptions, software development delays quality control deficiencies and questionable investment choices.

"Additionally, these programs continue to make investment decisions without sufficient knowledge, which can increase the risk of delays," the report reads.

Comptroller General of the United States Gene Dodaro said more needs to be done.

"We continue to see far more programs, however, experiencing delays in delivering capabilities," he wrote. "More than half of the major defense acquisition programs that we reviewed that have yet to deliver capabilities reported schedule slips over the past year."

He also said changes could help speed up the process at a critical time for the U.S.

"The 2022 National Security Strategy describes the U.S. as being in the early years of a decisive decade, in which the U.S. must ensure it is well prepared to deter or counter adversaries," he wrote. "Given their planned fielding time frames, the weapon systems in this report form an essential part of this deterrence."