Millions Wasted by Army Missile Unit, Audit Shows

WASHINGTON — Because it didn’t want to take a chance on disrupting delivery schedules, the Army Missile Command has been spending millions of dollars more than necessary to buy certain missile parts from prime contractors instead of directly from manufacturers, according to a Pentagon audit released today.

The audit by the Defense Department’s inspector general said it is impossible to determine the total of “excessive prices” paid by the Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Alabama “due to routine destruction of documentation. . . . “

Using incomplete records, however, the audit estimated that between 1972 and 1984, the arsenal spent from $19 million to $28 million more than necessary on just one key part--a sight for the TOW anti-tank missile launcher.

Missed Opportunity

The audit also said the arsenal could have saved about $242,500 on a $1.3-million contract awarded in 1982 for computer support equipment for the Pershing 2 missile system if it had gone directly to the computer manufacturer.

The audit, dated March 15, does not fault any of the companies involved, making it clear that it was up to the arsenal to decide how it was going to procure the parts.

Telephone calls to an Army spokesman at the Redstone Arsenal were not returned today.

According to the inspector general’s office, the audit was prompted by a call by an unidentified person to the Defense Department’s complaint hot line last year.