USS SECURE

In FY 2027, The USS SECURE program plans to execute four CRAs which includes IWS 80 for CP6, IWS 80 for SSDS Baseline (BL)12, PMA-280 for Tomahawk, and IWS 1 for Aegis BL 7/9/10, to include conducting a C4I Cyber Table-Top (CTT) for PMS 377 and supporting functional testing of CANES for IWS 1. The USS SECURE program will continue delivering land-based, end-to-end cyber testing services to proactively identify vulnerabilities in Navy systems before deployment. Through coordinated Cyber Test & Evaluation (CT&E) activities including Cyber Risk Assessments (CRAs), CTT exercises, resilience exercises, and vulnerability assessments evaluating systems operating across afloat, aloft, undersea, and ashore environments. These mission-based assessments occur within an operationally relevant system-of-systems test environment that integrates physical hardware and simulated components, allowing multiple Systems-under-Test (SUTs) and programs to be evaluated concurrently. The program provides Developmental Test & Evaluation (DT&E) reports detailing attack methods, vulnerabilities, operational impacts, and mission survivability risks, enabling data-driven cyber engineering decisions, improved mission continuity validation, and reduced program costs through streamlined test planning and early vulnerability discovery. During this period, USS SECURE is transitioning its processes and engineering approach to improve the efficiency and impact of the full cyber T&E lifecycle. Efforts focus on standardizing test preparation, measures, analysis, and outcomes to better support Navy systems engineering and cyber survivability objectives, while increasing the quantity and quality of CT&E data collected. A key initiative is the development of the Cyber Engineering, Test, & Evaluation (CETE) ecosystem, which integrates data from CRAs, CTTs, Red Team activities, and external cyber T&E sources into a centralized environment. By applying Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, particularly Large Language Models, the ecosystem will transform static reports into continuous reporting and automated analytics across a system's lifecycle. However, the program is operating under a fixed budget while labor costs are expected to rise, likely requiring personnel reductions. These constraints will limit the number of systems that can be tested prior to deployment, especially given the limited testing opportunities aboard ships potentially reducing cyber evidence, threat awareness, and ultimately the cyber survivability and mission readiness of deployed warfighting systems.

The FY26 budget was zeroed out by congressional action. The FY27 budget value for USS SECURE support returns to expected appropriated value due to reconciliation incongruence.