From the start of the CAARS program in 2005 until the course correction in December 2007, DNDO planned the acquisition and deployment of CAARS machines without understanding that they would not fit within existing primary inspection lanes at CBP ports of entry. This occurred because during the first year or more of the program DNDO and CBP had few discussions about operating requirements for primary inspection lanes at ports of entry. In addition, the CAARS program was among numerous acquisition programs about which we previously reported that appropriate DHS oversight was lacking. Furthermore, the development of the CAARS algorithms—a key part of the machine needed to identify shielded nuclear materials automatically—did not mature at a rapid enough pace to warrant acquisition and deployment. Moreover, the description of the progress of the CAARS program used to support funding requests in DNDO’s budget justifications for fiscal years 2009 through 2011 was misleading because it did not reflect the actual status of the program. From the inception of the CAARS program until the decision in December 2007 to cancel acquisition of the program, DNDO and CBP had few, if any, in-depth discussions about CBP’s requirements to be able to use radiography in primary inspection lanes. According to DNDO officials, they requested information from CBP on its user requirements for the CAARS system, but CBP was slow to respond to these requests. DNDO continued with its plans to develop CAARS machines because, according to DNDO officials, at the time it was thought that a solution was urgently needed to be able to detect shielded nuclear materials in primary inspection lanes. In discussing this with senior CBP officials, they said that DNDO officials did not attempt to meet with them during the beginning of the CAARS program. When CBP and DNDO officials met, shortly before the course correction, CBP officials said they made it clear to DNDO that they did not want the CAARS machines because they would not fit in primary inspections lanes and would slow down the flow of commerce through these lanes and cause significant delays. In our view, had CBP and DNDO officials met early in the development of the program to discuss CBP’s needs and operational requirements, as stated in DHS’s acquisition policy at the time, it is unlikely that DNDO would have found reason to move forward with its plan to develop and acquire CAARS technology. Nonetheless, in September 2006, DNDO awarded contracts to three CAARS vendors. In December 2007, DNDO decided to cancel the acquisition of CAARS and limit any further work to a research and development effort. In recent joint discussions with CBP and DNDO officials, they acknowledged that communication between the two agencies could have been improved during the early part of the CAARS program. They said they communicate much more routinely now and that, in their view, it would be unlikely that the communication problems associated with the CAARS program would reoccur. DNDO did not follow DHS acquisition protocols for the CAARS program. Specifically, in 2008, we reported that CAARS was among numerous major DHS acquisition programs that did not have a mission needs statement—a required DHS acquisition document that formally acknowledges that the need for an acquisition is justified and supported. DHS policy also called for programmatic reviews at key decision points and required certain analytical documents. However, CAARS did not undergo annual department level reviews as called for nor did DNDO program officials obtain or prepare basic analytical documents. For example, one of these documents, a concept of operations (CONOPS), was intended to demonstrate how CBP would use CAARS machines in primary inspection areas at the ports. However, as a result of inadequate communication and collaboration between CBP and DNDO discussed earlier, no CONOPS was developed during the early phase of the CAARS program. Ultimately, according to DNDO officials, once DNDO made the decision to cancel the acquisition portion of CAARS in December 2007, a CONOPS was no longer required. According to DNDO officials, at the time of the inception of the CAARS program, there was a widespread view within DNDO that something had to be done to provide CBP with the capability to detect highly shielded nuclear material in primary inspection lanes. DNDO officials acknowledged that the agency decided to move forward with the CAARS program despite the fact that automatic detection, a key feature of CAARS, depended on the rapid development of algorithms that were technologically immature. The algorithms are critical because they provide the capability for CAARS to automatically detect highly shielded nuclear material in primary inspection areas without the need for extensive operator review and interpretation of an image—two factors that could adversely affect CBP’s ability to avoid delays to the flow of commerce along with its overall effectiveness in detecting highly shielded nuclear material. Although algorithms supporting the CAARS technology were technologically immature, DNDO created an aggressive production and deployment schedule that was to begin in August 2008, the end of DNDO’s planned 2-year development period for the CAARS program. At the time it decided on this production milestone, DNDO officials said it was likely that the algorithms would be developed in time to meet the start of planned production. However, the technology did not develop as expected and contributed to DNDO’s decision to cancel the acquisition phase of CAARS. For fiscal year 2009 through fiscal year 2011, DHS justified annual budget requests to Congress by citing significant plans and accomplishments of the CAARS program, including that CAARS technology development and deployment was feasible, even though DNDO had made the decision in December 2007 to cancel the acquisition of CAARS. For example, in its fiscal year 2009 budget justification, DHS stated that a preliminary DNDO/CBP CAARS production and deployment program had been successfully developed and that CAARS machines would be developed that would detect both contraband and shielded nuclear material with little or no impact on CBP operations. The fiscal years 2010 and 2011 DHS budget justifications both cited that an ongoing testing campaign would lead to a cost benefit analysis, followed by rapid development of a prototype that would lead to a pilot deployment at a CBP point of entry. Furthermore, the fiscal year 2010 budget justification stated that while the CAARS technology was less mature than originally estimated, successful development was still feasible. However, DHS’s description and assessment of the CAARS program in its budget justification did not reflect the actual progress of the program. Specifically, DNDO officials told us that when they made their course correction and cancelled the acquisition part of the program in 2007, they also decided not to conduct a cost benefit analysis because such analyses are generally needed to justify going forward with acquisitions. In addition, DNDO completed CAARS testing in March 2010; however, as of today, the final test results for two of the three CAARS machines are not yet available. Currently, no CAARS machines have been deployed. CAARS machines from various vendors have either been disassembled or sit idle without being tested in a port environment, and CBP is considering whether to allow DNDO to collect operational data in a port environment. During recent discussions with DNDO officials, they agreed that the language in the budget justifications lacked clarity and stated that they are not planning to complete a cost benefit analysis since such analyses are generally associated with acquisition programs. Based on our review of the CAARS program and our reports on DNDO efforts to develop an advanced RPM called the advanced spectroscopic portal (ASP), we have identified lessons learned for DHS to consider in its continuing efforts to develop the next generation of radiography imaging technology. Despite the importance of coordinating crosscutting program efforts, we have reported that weak coordination of those efforts has been a long- standing problem in the federal government and has proven to be difficult to resolve. We have also reported that agencies can enhance and sustain their collaborative efforts. One way we reported that agencies can enhance coordination is to agree on roles and responsibilities and establish mutually reinforcing or joint strategies. As discussed, DNDO did not coordinate and collaborate with CBP early in the development of the CAARS program to identify CBP’s needs and requirements. According to DHS budget documents, in fiscal year 2011, the responsibility for research and development of advanced radiography will shift from DNDO to S&T. Leading up to this transition, there is confusion related to roles and responsibilities among DNDO, S&T, and CBP. For example, DNDO officials said they have requested permission from CBP to collect operational data in a port environment on an enhanced radiography machine. However, CBP officials stated that they had already purchased, operationally tested, and deployed 11 of these machines in secondary inspection areas. We recently discussed this issue at a joint meeting with DNDO and CBP officials. CBP and DNDO officials agreed that there was confusion over this issue, and both agencies agreed with the need to collect operational data on this enhanced radiography machine, and CBP has begun making arrangements to do so. Also, S&T officials said that they are about to contract out for radiography imaging technology for CBP that will improve imaging capabilities. DNDO officials told us that S&T’s efforts will include development of radiography capabilities to detect shielded nuclear material, while S&T officials told us that this is not an area of their focus. As DHS transitions its research and development of radiography, DHS officials said that a draft memorandum of agreement intended to clarify roles and responsibilities for cooperation and coordination among DNDO, CBP, and S&T has not been finalized. Completing the memorandum of agreement to clarify roles and responsibilities before proceeding with the research, development, and deployment of radiography technology could give DHS reasonable assurance that problems resulting from a lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities in the CAARS program do not recur.