GAO Report on DoD EELV Acquisition (Update)

EELV: DOD Needs to Ensure New Acquisition Strategy Is Based on Sufficient Information, GAO
“Broader issues exist as well, regarding the U.S. government’s acquisition of, and future planning for, launch services–issues which GAO believes should be addressed, given that they could reduce launch costs and assure future launch requirements are met. … Policymakers could benefit from additional insight into these issues, but it is not clear that DOD will address these issues in its upcoming strategy.”
GAO Report Raises Serious Concerns over ULA Block Buy, SpaceX
“The report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the nonpartisan, investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, found serious flaws with a proposal that would guarantee ULA’s monopoly over Department of Defense (DoD) launches. The report states that while ULA is pushing the 40-rocket purchase, the methodology and data used by ULA to justify the purchase were severely flawed, there is no justification for the five-year timeline, and a block purchase could kill opportunities for competition by forcing the government to commit to more boosters than are actually needed.”