Development Test and Evaluation

Mission — Development Test & Evaluation source

This program carries out the duties in accordance with Title 10 U.S.C. Section 133a, FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (Public Law 115-91) section 838, and the Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 5137.02 dated July 15, 2020. In FY 2020, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) established the Developmental Test, Evaluation, and Assessments (DTE&A) organization to provide consolidated Developmental Test and Evaluation (DT&E) and Independent Engineering Assessment functions in a single office. The Director, DTE&A, is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense; USD(R&E); and the Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) on DT&E, Independent Engineering Assessments, and Technical Risk Assessments in the Department of Defense (DoD). The assessment products developed by this program inform investment decisions for critical Warfighter capabilities that align to the Department's 17 priorities including Nuclear Modernization, Virginia-class submarines, executable surface ships, Homeland Missile Defense, One Way Attack/Autonomous Systems, and Munitions. This program supports the Department's initiatives to rebuild the military and reestablish deterrence. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) engages with Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) within the Adaptive Acquisition Framework, providing engineering and DT&E/Cybersecurity DT&E planning expertise to ensure decision-quality data is available at major engineering program reviews and program milestones. This engagement directly helps Program Managers succeed in rebuilding the military and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. OUSD(R&E) engages with programs to help meet interoperability requirements to deepen interoperability and Strengthen Alliances. Finally, OUSD(R&E) works with Director, Operational Test and Evaluation to streamline T&E policy and guidance to improve test efficiency and reduce acquisition cost and schedule to reform acquisition processes. This program supports and improves the engineering and DT&E efforts of Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP), Rapid Prototyping/Fielding efforts, and other Special Interest (SI) acquisition programs designated by USD(R&E) or USD(A&S) as they progress through the acquisition/development lifecycle; supports development of the defense acquisition workforce Test and Evaluation (T&E) career field; and supports development of policy and guidance for the conduct of DT&E and Cyber DT&E within the DoD. This program also provides dedicated resources to support MDAP and Rapid Prototyping/Fielding Program Managers, Chief Developmental Testers, and Lead Development Test & Evaluation organizations in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative Cybersecurity DT&E strategies/plans to support key acquisition milestones and engineering/programmatic decisions.

Mission — Cybersecurity DT&E for Weapon Systems source

The Cybersecurity Development Test and Evaluation (DT&E) for Weapon Systems project 048 provides dedicated resources to support Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) and Rapid Prototyping/Fielding Program Managers, Chief Developmental Testers, and Lead DT&E Organizations in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative cyber DT&E strategies to support key acquisition milestones and engineering/programmatic decisions. Cyber DT&E includes cybersecurity and cyber resilience as the components of cyber survivability. On behalf of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) this project executes the following activities: - Support acquisition programs in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative cyber DT&E strategies that can be documented in Test and Evaluation Master Plans (TEMPs). For Acquisition Category (ACAT) ID programs, review and approve/disapprove the cyber DT&E strategy/plans within the TEMP. For ACAT IB and IC programs, review the cyber DT&E strategy/plans within the TEMP and provide a recommendation to the Service Milestone Decision Authority as to whether or not the strategy is adequate. - Support rapid prototyping, rapid fielding, and technology demonstrations efforts in the development of tailored comprehensive, efficient, and innovative cyber DT&E strategies/plans. - Support the development of independent technical risk assessments and advise the Secretary on the progress towards meeting the cyber survivability Key Performance Parameter before any decision to grant Milestone A or B approval, or enter into low-rate initial production or full-rate production for ACAT ID programs or when requested by the Secretary. - Identify DoD cyber test infrastructure gaps and support development of the OUSD(R&E) test resources strategic plan. - Evolve the cyber DT&E 'state of practice' to keep pace with emerging technologies and improve test efficiency to field systems faster. - Coordinate with Director, Operational Test and Evaluation to improve cyber T&E efficiency and make best use of integrated testing.

Mission — Independent Engineering Assessments source

The Independent Engineering Assessments project 149 provides resources to support Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) Program Managers and Chief Engineers/Systems Engineers in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative engineering strategies/plans to support key acquisition milestones and engineering decisions. For Acquisition Category (ACAT) ID programs, this project also conducts independent engineering assessments, including Independent Technical Risk Assessments (ITRAs), and assessments at the Preliminary and Critical Design Reviews. On behalf of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) this project executes the following activities: -Support acquisition programs in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative systems engineering strategies. Provide Systems Engineering support to ACAT ID programs. For ACAT ID programs, review and approve/disapprove the System Engineering Plans (SEPs) to ensure engineering activities, strategies, and plans are comprehensive and consistent with best practices. - Monitor and advise USD(R&E) and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) on technical and engineering aspects of MDAPs and select alternate acquisition pathway programs to ensure they are adequate to support fielding and the achievement of cost, schedule and performance goals to include readiness, i.e., producibility, reliability, maintainability, sustainment, and other considerations. - For ACAT ID programs, provide ITRAs to the Defense Acquisition Executive (DAE) at the Milestone (MS) A, B, and C decisions with the goal of identifying technical risk and outlining potential mitigation measures that should be considered during program execution. For select high priority ACAT IB and IC programs, review and approve service conducted ITRAs prior to the applicable milestone decision point. - For ACAT ID programs, conduct Preliminary and Critical Design Review assessments to inform the Defense Acquisition Executive of technical risks, maturity of the technical baseline, and the program’s readiness to proceed in accordance with statute. - For ACAT ID programs, the ITRA and Preliminary Design Review (PDR) assessments support the DAE decision to approve MS B in accordance with statute. They also support the DAE as the milestone decision authority in satisfying requirements to notify congress a written record of the decision to grant MS B for a major defense acquisition program including identification of risks, mitigation measures, and technology maturity in accordance with statute. - Support acceleration of USD(R&E) modernization initiatives in accordance with the interim National Defense Strategy (NDS). - Conduct other technical reviews as requested, such as Nunn-McCurdy certification reviews, Non-Advocate Reviews, focused technical assessments, schedule risk assessments, and software readiness reviews to identify and mitigate program risk. - Coordinate with the Services to improve engineering practices for Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) and rapid prototyping/fielding programs. Identify, document, and share lessons learned to improve Systems Engineering across the DoD. - Guide Service and other component organizations in the development planning process to ensure proposed MDAP programs are executable within acceptable levels of risk.

Mission — Development Test & Evaluation source

The Development Test & Evaluation (DT&E) project 804 provides resources to support Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) and Rapid Prototyping/Fielding Program Managers, Chief Developmental Testers, and Lead DT&E Organizations in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative DT&E strategies/plans to support key acquisition milestones and engineering decisions. This project also supports the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) to manage the Test & Evaluation (T&E) career field and curriculum for the Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition workforce and develop policy and guidance for the conduct of DT&E within DoD. On behalf of the USD(R&E) this project executes the following activities: - Support acquisition programs in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative test strategies that can be documented in Test and Evaluation Master Plans (TEMPs). For Acquisition Category (ACAT) ID programs, review and approve/disapprove the DT&E strategy/plans within the TEMP. For ACAT IB and IC programs, review the DT&E strategy/plans within the TEMP and provide a recommendation to the Service Milestone Decision Authority as to whether or not the strategy is adequate. - Support rapid prototyping, rapid fielding, and technology demonstrations efforts in the development of tailored comprehensive, efficient, and innovative DT&E strategies/plans. - For ACAT ID programs, provide independent DT&E Sufficiency Assessments to the Defense Acquisition Executive at the Milestone B and C decisions with the goal of reducing discovery of performance issues later in the acquisition lifecycle when deficiencies are more costly to correct. - For ACAT IB and IC programs, provide an independent DT&E program assessment to the Service Milestone Decision Authority prior to the development Request for Proposal (RFP) release decision point and at the Milestone B and C decisions with the goal of reducing discovery of performance issues later in the acquisition lifecycle when deficiencies are more costly to correct. - When requested by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of Defense, provide independent developmental test assessments in support of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) and Service Major Defense Acquisition Programs. - Support the development of independent technical risk assessments and advise the Secretary on the progress toward meeting Key Performance Parameters, technology maturation, reliability growth projections, interoperability, and cyber resilience before any decision to grant Milestone A or B approval, or enter into low-rate initial production or full-rate production for ACAT ID programs or when requested by the Secretary. - Support the Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques Center of Excellence (STAT COE) that provides scientific analytical expertise to service MDAPs. - Identify the DoD test infrastructure gaps and support development of the OUSD(R&E) test resources strategic plan. - Evolve the DT&E 'state of practice' to keep pace with emerging technologies and improve test efficiency to field systems faster. - Coordinate with Director, Operational Test and Evaluation to improve T&E efficiency and make best use of integrated testing.

Accomplishments & Planned Programs (2)