DAF Architecture Force Integration
Abstract
Description: Department of the Air Force (DAF) Architecture Demonstration and Evaluation demonstrates and evaluates the integration of capabilities, not just individual capabilities. This work is a deliberate campaign that integrates demonstration and evaluation at the force-level (i.e., architecture level). This is critical because great designs on paper may not have traction when meeting reality, and traditional system-level testing and experimentation are not designed to yield insights into the effectiveness of capabilities working together to achieve integrated mission effects. By taking Architecture Demonstrations and Evaluations to the field, the DAF also uncovers mission-critical gaps that may not be uncovered at test ranges—meaning they would have been discovered on the road to conflict when it could be too late to correct. Therefore, a regular campaign of learning at the architecture level with demonstration and evaluation of how and where the Department of the Air Force fights is critical to moving from simply buying systems and hoping they compose into a family of systems in conflict to a deliberate approach that impacts overall architecture design, investments, requirements for future capabilities, and acquisition baseline updates for current systems. The DAF Architecture Demonstration and Evaluation effort focuses on addressing these needs. The DAF Architecture Demonstration and Evaluation pillar enables and conducts architecture-level demonstration and testing throughout the year and specifically at capstone Architecture Evaluations at key points to evaluate the integrated mission-oriented and functional-oriented architectures. These events further evaluate agility by adjusting operational scenarios from technical sprint to technical sprint to better reflect the uncertainty that a potential conflict might bring. The live demonstrations also enable focused objectives for integration with the joint force, allies, and partners and lower barriers to transition prototypes into operational programs. The Architecture Evaluations approach is modeled after modern commercial industry best practices and elements of the Special Operations community. This line of effort also includes costs for architecture evaluation infrastructure, test personnel, range access, consumables, travel, operational concept and non-materiel development, technical sprints to solve near-term gaps, and other evaluation-specific activities. The necessity of conducting evaluations at the architecture level and the speed required by the operational needs compel enhanced approaches to traditional test and analysis capabilities, namely new, innovative, and sufficiently-resourced test and analysis infrastructure, networks, and core subject matter expertise to include employment of military, civilian, reserve, and contractor capabilities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2023
- Source ID
- a2ef5f5b6862630ca7ca35545f19df55