Major T&E Investment

Mission — Major Operational Test Instrumentation source

This Project funds the development, acquisition, and integration of major operational test instrumentation for the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command's Operational Test Command and supporting test activities at test and training ranges. Requirements for instrumentation are identified through a long-range survey of project managers, Research Development and Engineering Centers (RDECs), and Battle Laboratories developing future weapon systems and the test programs that support these systems. Project focus is to address Director Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) identified Army test realism shortfalls. Base funding will establish enterprise level business processes and services for test instrumentation to develop, operate, and secure capabilities in accordance with OSD and Army Digital Engineering and Software Modernization Strategies. Efforts will promote synergies between the training and testing enablers to improve product development, integration, and cyber activities, and to promote re-use of common assets and services to meet Army modernization priorities. Projects are designated as a major test program based on their visibility, assessed relative technical risk (medium-high), schedule risk, cost (greater than $1.500 million per year or $7.500 million for the total project) and applicability to other mission areas or services. These projects are technically demanding, state-of-the-art, unique instrumentation assets or suites to meet technology shortfalls, and generally result from development programs managed by a professional project management team. The DOT&E annual report to Congress identified shortfalls in the Army's abilities to create realistic operational environments. The Expeditionary Live Virtual Constructive Command Center (XLCC) project addresses multiple shortfalls identified by DOT&E. XLCC is a portfolio of related development efforts that will deliver a system of systems to provide Test Monitoring & Control (TMC) for the Common Operating Picture (COP) for Exercise Control (EXCON) for the Multi-Domain Operations Environment (MDOE). XLCC will provide Real Time Casualty Assessment (RTCA) and instrumentation suite that delivers a high fidelity, realistic, real-time capability to measure the System Under Test (SUT). XLCC also allows the U.S. Army to test all Current-to-Future weapon systems in a realistic Future Operating Environment (FOE). XLCC will transition Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDTE) performance enhancements and technology upgrades to the Operational Test Command to include control, communications, communications network, weapons system interfaces, vehicle and dismounted-troop kits and peripherals. XLCC will enable sufficient data collection and analysis tools to collect, store and analyze Decision Driven Data (DDD). Improvements will enable the XLCC system of systems to measure and record accrued battle damage assessment (BDA), levels of exposure, effects of countermeasures, evasive action, and instrument threat vehicles for effect After Action Reviews (AAR). This capability is required by the operational test community to create an adequately realistic representation of a MDO combat environment across all Signature Modernization Efforts to support Army modernization priorities and other operational tests.

Mission — Range Radar Replacement Program (RRRP) source

In order to effect strategic overmatch on current and future battlefields, it is essential that the United States (U.S.) Army provide advanced radar system instrumentation for developmental testing. Since existing range radar instrumentation is aged beyond useful life and cannot adequately support emerging test requirements, the Range Radar Replacement Program (RRRP) recapitalizes and develops modern instrumentation radars to replace obsolete tracking and surveillance radars at U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command's (ATEC) activities, which include: Aberdeen Test Center (ATC), MD; White Sands Test Center (WSTC), NM; and Yuma Test Center (YTC), AZ. RRRP will deliver capability in three (3) block increments: Block I will recapitalize or replace existing radar systems, Block II will develop a Long Range Radar (LRR) which is compliant with ATEC's Test Capability Requirements Document (TCRD), and Block III will develop LRRs and Medium Range Radars (MRRs) to meet ATEC Block III TCRD Addendum. The acquisition of modern instrumentation radar systems will provide the Army with critical testing data essential for the development of next generation technology and advanced system capabilities. The RRRP provides the test centers with improved radar resolution, sensitivity, accuracy, clutter suppression, and reliability. The planned solution to meet program requirements consists of four primary items: Long Range Single Object Tracking Radars (SOTR), Long Range Multiple Object Tracking Radars (MOTR), Medium Range Radars (MRR), and Short Range Radars (SRR). The resulting systems will not only reduce operation and sustainment costs for the ranges, but will improve data collection, thus enhancing development of Army systems being tested at these ranges. The current fleet of instrumentation radars located at ATC, WSTC, and YTC has become antiquated to the extent that they are not able to support the test needs of the test centers. Funds in the amount of $48.003 Million will procure Modified Commercial Off-the-Shelf (MCOTS) radars for LRR, MRR and SRR solutions, and a combination of recapitalization and MCOTS replacement for the Long Range SOTRs and MOTRs.

Mission — Cyber Blue Team source

In 2016 the Army Acquisition Executive (AAE) designated the Program Manager for Cyber, and Training (PM CT2) as the Office of Primary Responsibility for Cyber Acquisition Blue Teams (CABT) certifications and standards program. This Project executes the establishment and management of certification standards for CABT and coordination of requirements on behalf of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA (ALT)). PM CT2 will establish certification standards, certify Blue Teams, and maintain a vulnerabilities/lessons learned repository. PM CT2 will work with Blue and Red Teams to establish processes which facilitate open network tests under the red team authority, coordinate with Program Managers on CABT efforts on behalf of ASA(ALT) and report to ASA(ALT) on new cyber vulnerabilities. Blue teams will work cooperatively with acquisition programs to make sure all security measures are taken throughout the program's lifecycle, ensuring cyber resiliency. Blue teams are essential to help military operators assess, protect and defeat the presence of cyber security threats across Army Acquisition Programs. Will focus on the continuation of certifying candidate teams. The goal is to certify enough teams to allow acquisition programs the flexibility to find a certified Blue Team that meet their program's schedule and cost and can be incorporated early on in the program. CABT vulnerability assessments will provide data analytics to report trends and lessons learned. A web portal will serve as a one-stop shop for both candidate and certified Blue teams to obtain and maintain their certification.

Mission — Reagan Test Site (RTS) T&E Investments source

This Project funds improvement and modernization (I&M) for the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS) instrumentation systems. The Reagan Test Site with its remote location and one of kind instrumentation systems provides a strategic test environment that cannot be replicated. In order to continue its critical mission of testing missile systems that are of paramount importance to the defense of the nation, the RTS instrumentation systems must be continuously updated and upgraded to support the emerging technologies being developed by the Department of Defense (DOD) such as hypersonics and other advanced weapons systems. Without modernization, these instrumentation systems face obsolescence or degraded capability and the inability to provide the critical data needed for continued materiel development. Without instrumentation on par with the technologies being utilized in emerging systems, the materiel developer will be unable to complete their test programs or pass programmatic milestones toward deployment. These funds provide modernization of the radar, telemetry, optics, range safety, communications, command/control and other equipment essential to meet test and evaluation requirements of the Services and DoD agencies. The RTS instrumentation is required to support data collection for test & evaluation assessments and operational decisions that have strategic implications for the Army, Navy, Air Force, United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM), Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and other customers. RTS, located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is a remote, secure activity of the Major Range and Test Facility Base (MRTFB). Funding will enable RTS to meet customer objectives and sustain the required instrumentation suite. FY25 funding in the amount of $3.269 million is in support of the Pacific Defense Initiative.

Mission — Major T&E Investment source

This Program Element (PE) funds the development and acquisition of major developmental test instrumentation for the United States (U.S.) Army Test and Evaluation Command's (ATEC) test activities: White Sands Test Center (WSTC), New Mexico; Yuma Test Center (YTC), Arizona; Aberdeen Test Center (ATC), Maryland; Electronic Proving Ground (EPG), Arizona; Redstone Test Center (RTC), Alabama; and for the Reagan Test Site (RTS) at the United States Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA), which is managed by the Space and Missile Defense Command. This PE also funds development and acquisition of Operational Test Command's (OTC) major field instrumentation, management of the Cyber Acquisition Blue Teams (CABT) certification standards. Requirements for instrumentation and cyber certifications are identified through a long range survey of project managers, Research Development and Engineering Centers (RDECs), and Battle Laboratories developing future weapon systems and the test programs that support these systems. Army testing facilities are also surveyed to determine major testing capability shortfalls. This funding line supports testing of Army Modernization Priority Programs. FY25 funding in the amount of $3.269 million is in support of the Pacific Defense Initiative. The FY 2026 request was reduced by $0.394 million for Advisory and Assistance Services to promote efficiencies and advance the policies of the Administration in alignment with Executive Order 14222, "Implementing the President's Department of Government Efficiency Cost Efficiency Initiative."

Mission — Major Developmental Testing Instrumentation source

This Project develops and acquires major test instrumentation to perform developmental testing of weapon systems at United States Army Test and Evaluation Command's (ATEC) activities which include: Yuma Test Center (YTC), AZ; Aberdeen Test Center (ATC), MD; Electronic Proving Ground (EPG), AZ; White Sands Test Center (WSTC), NM; Redstone Test Center (RTC), AL; Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC), AK. Projects are designated as a major test program based on their visibility, assessed relative technical risk (medium high), schedule risk, cost (greater than $1.500 Million per year or $7.500 Million for the total Project) and applicability to other mission areas or services. These Projects are technically demanding, state of the art, unique instrumentation assets or suites to meet technology shortfalls, and generally result from development programs managed by a professional project management team. All projects are designed to support both test and training requirements, as applicable. Test Enterprise Network Modernization (TENM) will upgrade existing test data networks to ensure infrastructures are capable of providing reliable and secure transport of data and communications for ATEC test activities, as well as a revitalized fiber network. Due to limited commercial infrastructure, the cold regions have limited network connectivity. Therefore, TENM requires an edge capability along with a permanent fiber backbone on Army test ranges to ensure advanced weapon systems can operate flawlessly in extreme cold. Applied Environments Modernization (AEM) program will upgrade antiquated labs for temperature and dynamic testing with new cascade refrigeration units, temperature chambers, vibration test systems, x-ray cameras, a real-time radiography system and full spectrum solar lights, and an outdoor wind and dust machine. Telemetry Systems Modernization (TSM) will modernize outdated telemetry systems with new equipment designed to enhance the technical and spectral capabilities currently available. This new telemetry equipment will also provide for a remote controlled operational geography. In support of the National Defense Strategy, each of these programs supports the following Army Cross Functional Teams: Long Range Precision Fires, Next Generation Combat Vehicle and Future Vertical Lift, and Air and Missile Defense.

Accomplishments & Planned Programs (18)