Sec. 805. Alternative test and evaluation pathway for designated defense acquisition programs
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The Secretary of Defense shall issue guidance to establish an alternative test and evaluation (T&E) pathway for certain Department of Defense acquisition programs to enhance agility, accelerate delivery of capabilities, and ensure data-driven decisionmaking, while maintaining independent oversight of evaluation outcomes. The Secretary of Defense shall establish an alternative test and evaluation pathway for covered programs that includes the following requirements: For each covered program, the military department concerned, through its service test activities, shall— design and execute a unified test and evaluation strategy that aligns developmental testing
(DT)and operational testing
(OT)to a single set of test objectives that build system understanding throughout the test program to more effectively support capability delivery within rapid prototyping and iterative updates with early and continuous operational feedback; develop and execute a test data strategy, updated as needed, that includes— collection of raw data from system components during test events and operational activities, including submission of industry derived data from their development and testing evolutions; evaluation criteria to assess the mission effects and suitability of the system based on the data to be collected, including from live-fire test events, if applicable; a process for independently validating industry test results, if needed; provision of resources for automated data collection, storage, and access; and automated analytics tools to assess performance trends, reliability, and maintenance needs; incorporate, to the maximum extent practicable, best practices such as— hardware-in-the-loop testing to validate system integration; continuous data collection from prototypes and fielded systems to refine designs and update lifecycle costs; test subsystem prototypes throughout system development to assess their contribution to the mission effect of the fielded system; and integration of supporting or complementary data from digital twins or other model-based systems engineering tools; define general test and evaluation objectives and data needs while allowing detailed execution plans to evolve based on test results and emerging requirements, avoiding rigid milestone-driven schedules; and ensure all raw test data and associated analytics are owned by the government, stored in accessible repositories, and available to authorized Department entities, including the Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E), throughout the program lifecycle. Covered programs under this pathway shall be exempt from— the requirement to develop and submit a Test and Evaluation Master Plan
(TEMP)under Department of Defense Instruction 5000.02 or other policies, provided a unified test and evaluation strategy and data strategy under subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)of paragraph
(1)are implemented; milestone-specific operational test events, such as Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E), mandated under section 4171 of title 10, United States Code, or related regulations; and any other test and evaluation documentation or approval processes that the Secretary determines are inconsistent with the agile and iterative nature of this pathway. For covered programs under the alternative test and evaluation pathway designated for oversight by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation shall— provide independent evaluation of test data across all phases of the program lifecycle, including— assessing the sufficiency of the program’s test and evaluation strategy and data strategy to demonstrate military effectiveness; evaluating whether the program collects and analyzes sufficient raw data, learns from test results at a pace relevant to operational needs, and converges on military effectiveness based on data trends; identifying deficiencies in test and evaluation strategies that risk system performance, suitability, or survivability; and providing continuous oversight through ongoing analysis of test data; have unrestricted access to all raw test data, data repositories, and analytics maintained by military departments for covered programs; not require of covered programs— specific test plans, execution methods, or documentation formats or require pre-approval of test and evaluation activities as a condition of testing, data collection, or evaluation; or Director of Operational Test and Evaluation-approved Test and Evaluation Master Plans or other pre-execution documentation under existing policies; and include in its annual report to Congress under section 139(h) of title 10, United States Code, a summary of the adequacy of data strategies, rates of learning, and risks that aligns with the evaluation processes established in this section. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments and the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, shall issue guidance to implement the alternative test and evaluation pathway, including standards for data strategies and modern testing practices and procedures to support evaluation by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation under subsection (c)(2). Not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the implementation of this section, including an assessment of the effectiveness of the pathway in accelerating capability delivery and improving system performance and any recommendations for expanding or modifying the pathway. In this section, the term covered program means a defense acquisition program that is— designated under the Software Acquisition Pathway pursuant to section 3603 of title 10, United States Code, initiated on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; and designated by the Secretary of Defense on or after the issuance of guidance under subsection (d).