Pentagon’s Director, Operational Test & Evaluation 2021 Annual Report
January 28, 2022 8:52 AM
The following is the Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) 2021 annual report. It was released On Jan. 27, 2022.
From the report
As we start the third decade of the 21st century, the United States remains the world’s preeminent military power, thanks to our dedicated all-volunteer force, who are committed to their oath to support and defend the Constitution, and the civilians who stand beside and behind our women and men in uniform. Our Armed Forces’ intellect, creativity, and countless hours of selfless service fuel America’s successful national defense. Those unparalleled intangibles are backed by the technology the Defense Department puts in their hands, which, thus far, has given them the edge necessary to protect our homeland and our allies, and to advance the United States’ strategic objectives.
The acquisition and testing communities are responsible for ensuring that this technology continues to provide American forces the decisive advantage they need. On the surface, the operational tester’s job may appear simple: determine a system’s operational effectiveness and suitability, and the survivability of the system and its operator, in the context of the intended mission. This succinct description belies the challenge in assessing a weapon or other technology in operationally realistic conditions – with the warfighters who will use it, in the expected physical environment, under the tactical conditions and battle plan anticipated, facing threats that accurately replicate our potential adversaries. As the operational test community knows, fulfilling that mandate was never simple and the future offers no respite. U.S. systems are growing more complex; our adversaries are becoming more sophisticated and capable; and joint multi-domain operations, encompassing land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace, are now the driving operating concept. The need to execute rigorous, credible OT&E has not lessened; in fact, it may be more critical than ever. Over the past year, competitors revealed technological advances that match and outpace our own, for instance, in hypersonic missiles. In November 2021, just prior to concluding four decades of service, then Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Hyten remarked that “probably should create a sense of urgency.” DOT&E couldn’t agree more.
https://news.usni.org/2022/01/28/pentagons-director-operational-test-evaluation-2021-annual-report#more-91631
