Sec. 237. Assessment and strategy relating to hypersonic testing capacity of the Department of Defense
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The Secretary of Defense shall assess the capacity of the Department of Defense to test, evaluate, and qualify the hypersonic capabilities and related technologies of the Department. The assessment under subsection
(a)shall include the following: An assumption, for purposes of evaluating the capacity described in subsection (a), that the Department of Defense will conduct at least one full-scale, operationally relevant, live-fire, hypersonic weapon test of each hypersonic weapon system that is under development each year by each of the Air Force, the Army, and the Navy, once such system reaches initial operational capability. An identification of test facilities outside the Department of Defense that have potential to be used to expand the capacity described in subsection (a), including test facilities of other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, academia, and commercial test facilities. An analysis of the capability of each test facility identified under paragraph
(2)to simulate various individual and coupled hypersonic conditions to accurately simulate a realistic flight-like environment with all relevant aero-thermochemical conditions. An identification of the coordination, scheduling, reimbursement processes, and requirements needed for the potential use of test facilities of other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, as available. An analysis of the test frequency, scheduling lead time, test cost, and capacity of each test facility identified under paragraph (2). A review of test facilities identified under paragraph
(2)that could enhance efforts to test flight vehicles of the Department in all phases of hypersonic flight, and other technologies, including sensors, communications, thermal protective shields and materials, optical windows, navigation, and environmental sensors. An assessment of any cost savings and time savings that could result from using technologies identified in the strategy under subsection (c). Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy to coordinate the potential use of test facilities and ranges identified under subsection (b)(2) to evaluate hypersonic technologies. The strategy under paragraph
(1)shall— be based on the assessment under subsection (a); address how the Secretary will coordinate with other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to plan for and schedule the potential use of other Federal Government-owned test facilities and ranges, as available, to evaluate the hypersonic technologies of the Department of Defense; to the extent practicable, address in what cases the Secretary can use test facilities identified under subsection (b)(2) to fill any existing testing requirement gaps to enhance and accelerate flight qualification of critical hypersonic technologies of the Department; identify— the resources needed to improve the frequency and capacity for testing hypersonic technologies of the Department at ground-based test facilities and flight test ranges, including estimated costs for conducting at least one full-scale, operationally relevant, live-fire, hypersonic weapon test of each hypersonic weapon system that is under development each year by each of the Air Force, the Army, and the Navy, once such system reaches initial operational capability; the resources needed to reimburse other departments and agencies of the Federal Government for the use of the test facilities and ranges of those departments or agencies to test the hypersonics technologies of the Department; the requirements, approval processes, and resources needed to enhance, as appropriate, the testing capabilities and capacity of other Federal Government-owned test facilities and flight ranges, in coordination with the heads of the relevant departments and agencies; investments that the Secretary can make to incorporate test facilities identified under subsection (b)(2) into the overall hypersonic test infrastructure of the Department of Defense; and the environmental conditions, testing sizes, and duration required for flight qualification of both hypersonic cruise and hypersonic boost-glide technologies of the Department; and address all advanced or emerging technologies that could shorten timelines and reduce costs for hypersonic missile testing, including with respect to— 3D printing of hypersonic test missile components including the frame, warhead, and propulsion systems; reusable hypersonic test beds, including air-launched, sea-launched, and ground-launched options; additive manufacturing solutions; the potential use of airborne platforms other than the B–52 aircraft to improve flight schedules for such testing; and other relevant technologies. The Secretary of Defense shall develop the strategy under paragraph
(1)in coordination with the Program Director of the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the research laboratories of the military departments, and the Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes an estimate of the costs of conducting at least one full-scale, operationally relevant, live-fire, hypersonic weapon test of each hypersonic weapon system that is under development each year by each of the Air Force, the Army, and the Navy, once such system reaches initial operational capability. The term appropriate congressional committees means the following: The congressional defense committees. The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.