Independent Assessment of Missile Defense Agency Processes for Flight Test Planning and Execution
Abstract
One of the main findings of the July 2020 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report Missile Defense: Assessment of Testing Approach Needed as Delays and Changes Persist is that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) did not fully execute its fiscal year 2019 flight testing, continuing a decade-long trend in which MDA has been unable to achieve its fiscal year flight testing as scheduled. Although MDA revised its approach to developing its annual test plan in 2009 to ensure the test plan was executable, over the past decade MDA has only been able to conduct 37 percent of its baseline fiscal year testing as originally planned due to various reasons including developmental delays, range and target availability, or changing test objectives. The GAO report recommended that MDA ensure an independent assessment is conducted of its process for developing and executing its annual [Ballistic Missile Defense System] BMDS flight test plan. The Department of Defense (DoD) concurred with this recommendation, and MDA asked the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) to conduct the assessment. The scope of IDAs study included the BMDS flight test program and its role in characterizing the systems specific capabilities and limitations, demonstrating the overall BMDS capability to allies and adversaries, deterring adversaries use of ballistic missiles, building warfighter confidence, and validating and verifying the BMDS models and simulations. Other aspects of the BMDS test program such as ground tests, the use of models and simulations, exercises and wargames were outside the scope of this assessment. IDAs overarching approach to conducting the study included reviewing relevant documentation and conducting interviews with government officials from MDA and other relevant DoD stakeholder organizations to hear their perspectives and learn from their experiences. The information was analyzed and common trends and issues were identified.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1203756
Entities
People
- Jeremy A. Teichman
- John S. Hong
- Joseph T. Buontempo
- Matthew R. Girardi
- Robert V. Uy
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses