Executive Summary

Rigorous operational testing (OT) of weapon systems procured by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is fundamental to ensuring that these sophisticated systems not only meet their stated requirements, but also perform under realistic operational conditions when faced by determined adversaries employing their own highly capable offensive and defensive weaponry. Without adequate OT, operational commanders would be unable to make the most effective use of their capability and warfighters would lack confidence in the weapons they bring to the fight or, worse, may inadvertently put themselves in harm’s way because they do not have a fundamental understanding of their weapons’ capabilities and limitations. DoD’s test and training range enterprise provides the geography, infrastructure, technology, expertise, processes, and management that make safe, secure, and comprehensive OT possible. However, the range enterprise, along with the talented and committed range workforce that makes the system function, is under great stress. Unless prompt action is taken to address both longstanding and emerging challenges, including test capacity, modernization, digital infrastructure, encroachment, and resources, DoD’s ranges will be unable to support timely or adequate OT in the future.

The challenges facing the nation’s range infrastructure are both increasing and accelerating. Limited test capacity in physical resources and workforce, the age of test infrastructure, the capability to test advanced technologies, and encroachment impact the ability to inform system performance, integrated system performance, and the overall pace of testing. Investments in the U.S. test infrastructure and changes in test

and evaluation (T&E) methodologies and handling of data are necessary to inform the delivery of lethal, survivable, reliable, and affordable weapon systems to the field at a speed that is relevant to the operational need. This study draws on testimony from senior military officers and officials from operational, acquisition, and test backgrounds as well as on test and training experts, leading technologists, leaders from relevant commercial enterprises, and individuals with deep experience in DoD and congressional budget processes. The study committee conducted virtual and physical site visits to a representative sample of test ranges; collected test range inputs on modernization, sustainment, operations, and resource challenges; and reviewed prior studies and reports from the office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), the military service test organizations, and the Test Resource Management Center (TRMC). This report makes a set of interdependent recommendations that the committee believes will put the DoD range enterprise on a modernization trajectory to meet the needs of OT in the years ahead.

The report emphasizes the following three fundamental themes:

1. Future combat will demand connected kill chains in a Joint All-Domain Operations (JADO) environment. It is critical that DoD architects, specifies, develops, and tests systems to ensure that they are highly effective when fielded in this new reality. DoD acquisition processes, organizational stovepipes, test methods, and range infrastructure that were optimized for the testing of individual weapon systems in single domains will be inadequate to test future integrated weapon systems in the way that they will be operated in machine-speed warfare that crosses all combat domains, including land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.
2. Digital technologies are dramatically reshaping the nature, practice, and infrastructure of test. The weapon systems of today and tomorrow are fundamentally enabled by data and software, and DoD test ranges will be no different. The rapidly increasing importance of autonomy, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning across defense systems is creating novel challenges for OT. Furthermore, the advent of digital twins and high-performance modeling and simulation (M&S) is enabling new ways of testing, even as combinations of new domains and operational constraints increasingly make virtual testing the only practical approach for certain applications.
3. Speed-to-field is today’s measure of operational relevance, which is in turn a continuously moving target. Enabled by the global proliferation of many digital, software, and communications-based technologies, U.S. adversaries are rapidly and continuously

deploying new generations of weapons designed to negate U.S. warfighting advantages. At the same time, new weapon systems are employing never-fielded technologies, which are also evolving at a pace enabled by Moore’s Law. Usable weapon systems are fielded promptly, but there is a need for continuous testing and assessment.

To address the challenges tied to these themes, the committee developed conclusions and recommendations that fall into the following five broad categories:

1. Develop the “range of the future” to test complete kill chains in JADO environments. It is essential that the range enterprise accommodate new concepts of operation and new test approaches for realistic operational testing, which includes enabling infrastructure for system-of-systems integrated testing and the interoperability of multiple ranges across diverse domains. [Recommendation 3-1]
2. Restructure the range capability requirements process for continuous modernization and sustainment. Enabling speed-to-field while maintaining the rigor of operational test and evaluation will require rapid range modernization for new weapons technologies and new threats. At the same time, key capabilities need to be sustained and even augmented to ensure required test capacity and throughput, while mitigating the issues caused by encroachment both in the physical and radio frequency environments. [Recommendations 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5]
3. Bootstrap a new range operating system for ubiquitous M&S throughout the weapon system development and test life cycle. Many of today’s DoD programs cannot be tested effectively in live testing alone. High-fidelity virtual testing can improve readiness and the likelihood of success for actual hardware testing and may be the only environment to do certain types of tests. However, widespread and standardized use of M&S for operational test will depend on a new M&S infrastructure, significant cultural changes within the test community, and new approaches to the validation of M&S in an ever-changing threat and technology environment. [Recommendation 4-1]
4. Create the “TestDevOps” digital infrastructure for future operational test and seamless range enterprise interoperability. Redefine the enterprise-supported core digital standards and capabilities for TRMC and test ranges to take advantage of DoD’s scale for software, data, networks, AI, cybersecurity, and M&S.

Make model-based engineering, the unbroken digital thread, and continuous integration/continuous delivery software practices the foundation for range agility, rapid test evolution, and speed-to-field. Ultra-high-bandwidth information flows must become frictionless, on-demand, and secure. [Recommendations 4-2, 4-3]

5. Reinvent the range enterprise funding model for responsiveness, effectiveness, and flexibility. The resource needs of today and tomorrow reflect the reality of rapidly changing technology and threats; sustained capital investment for creation, upgrade, and maintenance of long-life range systems; and increasing demands for cross-domain system-of-systems testing with seamlessly integrated M&S. Including DOT&E earlier and continuously in the requirements development and acquisition processes will better establish and certify the timeliness and adequacy of range investments. [Recommendations 5-1, 5-2; Conclusions 5-1, 5-2]

Table ES.1 maps the report recommendations and key conclusions to the themes laid out above.

TABLE ES.1 Report Recommendations and Key Conclusions Mapped to Themes