Operational Test Activities and Analyses
Abstract
The Operational Test Activities and Analyses (OTA&A) programs are continuing efforts that provide management and oversight of test and evaluation functions and expertise to the Department of Defense (DoD). The OTA&A programs consist of three activities: Joint Test and Evaluation (JT&E); Test and Evaluation Threat Resource Activity (TETRA); and Center for Countermeasures (CCM). JT&E projects are T&E activities conducted in a joint military environment that develop process improvements. These multi-Service projects, chartered by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and coordinated with the Joint Staff, CCMDs, and the Services, provide non-materiel solutions that improve the following: joint interoperability of Service systems, technical and operational concepts, joint operational issues, development and validation of joint test methodologies, and test data for validating models, simulations, and test beds. New projects are also encouraged to align their efforts to support the National Defense Strategy. The JT&E projects address relevant joint warfighting issues in a joint test and evaluation environment by developing and providing new tactics, techniques, and procedures to improve joint capabilities and methodologies. Test and Evaluation Threat Resource Activity (TETRA), based on a memorandum of agreement between the DOT&E and the Defense Intelligence Agency, provides DOT&E support in the areas of threat resource analysis, intelligence support and threat systems investments. As DOT&E’s agent, TETRA provides threat resource analyses on the availability, capabilities and limitations of threat representations (threat simulators, targets, models, U.S. surrogates, and foreign materiel) and analysis of test resources used for operational testing to support DOT&E’s assessment of the adequacy of testing for those programs designated for oversight by DOT&E and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD (A&S)). TETRA provides DOT&E action officers and other DOT&E activities with program-specific threat intelligence support. TETRA also funds management, oversight, and the actual development of common-use threat specifications for threat simulators, threat representative targets, and digital threat models used for T&E. The Center for Countermeasures (CCM), a Joint Service Countermeasure (CM) T&E activity, directs, coordinates, supports, and conducts independent countermeasure/counter-countermeasure (counter-CM) T&E activities of U.S. and foreign weapon systems, subsystems, sensors, and related components. CCM accomplishes this work in support of DOT&E, weapon system developers, and the Services. CCM’s testing and analyses directly supports evaluations of the operational effectiveness and suitability of CM/counter-CM systems, such as aircraft survivability equipment (ASE) used on rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft. CCM’s mission to support T&E of ASE enables the survivability of aircraft in a high threat environment to enable mission success. In addition, CCM provides test support for Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) programs. CCM improves Service member exercises, training, and pre-deployment activities with expertise in CM/counter-CM technology and capabilities. Also, cooperative Allied efforts are supported in the areas of ASE T&E, DEW T&E, and threat M&S development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2023
- Source ID
- 0605814OTE_6_0460_PB_2023
- Change Summary Explanation
- FY 2023 funding increase reflects the fact that the FY 2022 President's Budget request did not include out-year funding. FY 2023 programmatic increase from FY 2022 reflects restoral of the Joint Test and Evaluation program funding.
- Service Agency Name
- Operational Test and Evaluation, Defense
Entities
Organizations
- Operational Test and Evaluation Force
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