DoD revamps testing organization

As a result of a GAO (general accounting office) audit, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has designated the Navy as DoD's automatic test systems (ATS) ED, and a new joint ATS memorandum of agreement among the SAEs is in process. The DoD's policy for ATS acquisitions has remained fairly constant since its inception in 1994. However, emphasis has shifted to acquiring standard DoD ATS family testers as the preferred acquisition choice. The U.S. DoD has emphasized automatic testing since the early 1990s, when the DoD inspector general (IG) conducted a series of audits on the "Development and Acquisition of DoD Maintenance and Diagnostic Systems" in each of the armed services.