# Development Test & Evaluation — Program Element 0605804D8Z **Program element:** 0605804D8Z **Component:** Defense-Wide **Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide **Budget Activity:** 6 — RDT&E Management Support **Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027 **Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605804D8Z ## Summary Defense-Wide requests $35.1M in FY2027 (down from a FY2026 peak), sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full. ## Funding profile | Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) | |---|---|---| | FY2025 | Actual | 36.2 | | FY2026 | Enacted | 37.0 | | FY2027 | Request | 35.1 | | FY2028 | Outyear | 35.1 | | FY2029 | Outyear | 35.6 | | FY2030 | Outyear | 36.4 | | FY2031 | Outyear | 36.4 | > Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections. ## Congressional marks (FY2027) | Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) | |---|---|---| | Request | 35.1 | — | | House NDAA (HASC) | 35.1 | +0.0 | | Senate NDAA (SASC) | 35.1 | +0.0 | | House Approps (HAC-D) | 35.1 | +0.0 | > FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law. ## Projects (3) | Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 804 | Development Test & Evaluation | 19.9 | 19.9 | 19.1 | −4% | | 149 | Independent Engineering Assessments | 9.8 | 9.9 | 9.3 | −6% | | 048 | Cybersecurity DT&E for Weapon Systems | 6.5 | 7.2 | 6.6 | −7% | > Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it. ### Project 804 — Development Test & Evaluation The Development Test & Evaluation (DT&E) project 804 provides resources to support Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) and Rapid Prototyping/Fielding Program Managers, Chief Developmental Testers, and Lead DT&E Organizations in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative DT&E strategies/plans to support key acquisition milestones and engineering decisions. This project also supports the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) to manage the Test & Evaluation (T&E) career field and curriculum for the Department of War (DoW) acquisition workforce and develop policy and guidance for the conduct of DT&E within DoW. On behalf of the USW(R&E) this project executes the following activities: - Support acquisition programs in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative test strategies that can be documented in Test and Evaluation Master Plans (TEMPs). For Acquisition Category (ACAT) ID programs, review and approve/disapprove the DT&E strategy/plans within the TEMP. For ACAT IB and IC programs, review the DT&E strategy/plans within the TEMP and provide a recommendation to the Service Milestone Decision Authority as to whether or not the strategy is adequate. - Support rapid prototyping, rapid fielding, and technology demonstrations efforts in the development of tailored comprehensive, efficient, and innovative DT&E strategies/plans. - For ACAT ID programs, provide independent DT&E Sufficiency Assessments to the Defense Acquisition Executive at the Milestone B and C decisions with the goal of reducing discovery of performance issues later in the acquisition lifecycle when deficiencies are more costly to correct. - For ACAT IB and IC programs, provide an independent DT&E program assessment to the Service Milestone Decision Authority prior to the development Request for Proposal (RFP) release decision point and at the Milestone B and C decisions with the goal of reducing discovery of performance issues later in the acquisition lifecycle when deficiencies are more costly to correct. - When requested by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of War, provide independent developmental test assessments in support of Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment (USW(A&S)) and Service Major Defense Acquisition Programs. | Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | |---|---|---|---| | Development Test and Evaluation | 19.9 | 19.9 | 19.1 | > R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them. ### Project 149 — Independent Engineering Assessments The Independent Engineering Assessments project 149 provides resources to support Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) Program Managers and Chief Engineers/Systems Engineers in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative engineering strategies/plans to support key acquisition milestones and engineering decisions. For Acquisition Category (ACAT) ID programs, this project also conducts independent engineering assessments, including Independent Technical Risk Assessments (ITRAs), and assessments at the Preliminary and Critical Design Reviews. On behalf of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) this project executes the following activities: -Support acquisition programs in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative systems engineering strategies. Provide Systems Engineering support to ACAT ID programs. For ACAT ID programs, review and approve/disapprove the System Engineering Plans (SEPs) to ensure engineering activities, strategies, and plans are comprehensive and consistent with best practices. - Monitor and advise USW(R&E) and Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment (USW(A&S)) on technical and engineering aspects of MDAPs and select alternate acquisition pathway programs to ensure they are adequate to support fielding and the achievement of cost, schedule and performance goals to include readiness, i.e., producibility, reliability, maintainability, sustainment, and other considerations. - For ACAT ID programs, provide ITRAs to the Defense Acquisition Executive (DAE) at the Milestone (MS) A, B, and C decisions with the goal of identifying technical risk and outlining potential mitigation measures that should be considered during program execution. For select high priority ACAT IB and IC programs, review and approve service conducted ITRAs prior to the applicable milestone decision point. - For ACAT ID programs, conduct Preliminary and Critical Design Review assessments to inform the Defense Acquisition Executive of technical risks, maturity of the technical baseline, and the program’s readiness to proceed in accordance with statute. - For ACAT ID programs, the ITRA and Preliminary Design Review (PDR) assessments support the DAE decision to approve MS B in accordance with statute. | Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | |---|---|---|---| | Independent Engineering Assessments | 9.8 | 9.9 | 9.3 | > R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them. ### Project 048 — Cybersecurity DT&E for Weapon Systems The Cybersecurity Development Test and Evaluation (DT&E) for Weapon Systems project 048 provides dedicated resources to support Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) and Rapid Prototyping/Fielding Program Managers, Chief Developmental Testers, and Lead DT&E Organizations in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative cyber DT&E strategies to support key acquisition milestones and engineering/programmatic decisions. Cyber DT&E includes cybersecurity and cyber resilience as the components of cyber survivability. On behalf of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) this project executes the following activities: - Support acquisition programs in the development of comprehensive, efficient, and innovative cyber DT&E strategies that can be documented in Test and Evaluation Master Plans (TEMPs). For Acquisition Category (ACAT) ID programs, review and approve/disapprove the cyber DT&E strategy/plans within the TEMP. For ACAT IB and IC programs, review the cyber DT&E strategy/plans within the TEMP and provide a recommendation to the Service Milestone Decision Authority as to whether or not the strategy is adequate. - Support rapid prototyping, rapid fielding, and technology demonstrations efforts in the development of tailored comprehensive, efficient, and innovative cyber DT&E strategies/plans. - Support the development of independent technical risk assessments and advise the Secretary on the progress towards meeting the cyber survivability Key Performance Parameter before any decision to grant Milestone A or B approval, or enter into low-rate initial production or full-rate production for ACAT ID programs or when requested by the Secretary. - Identify DoW cyber test infrastructure gaps and support development of the OUSW(R&E) test resources strategic plan. - Evolve the cyber DT&E 'state of practice' to keep pace with emerging technologies and improve test efficiency to field systems faster. - Coordinate with Director, Operational Test and Evaluation to improve cyber T&E efficiency and make best use of integrated testing. | Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | |---|---|---|---| | Cybersecurity DT&E for Weapon Systems | 6.5 | 7.2 | 6.6 | > R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them. ## Mission & acquisition strategy This program carries out the duties in accordance with Title 10 U.S.C. Section 133a, FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (Public Law 115-91) section 838, and Department of War (DoW) Directive 5137.02 dated July 15, 2020 and as outlined in the 2026 National Defense Strategy and the 2026 Acquisition Transformation Strategy. In FY 2020, the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) established the Developmental Test, Evaluation, and Assessments (DTE&A) organization to provide consolidated Developmental Test and Evaluation (DT&E) and Independent Engineering Assessment functions in a single office. ## Related program elements - [0605142D8Z — Systems Engineering](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605142D8Z) (Defense-Wide) - [0101126F — B-1B Squadrons](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0101126F) (Air Force) - [0401319F — VC-25B](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0401319F) (Air Force) - [0606829D8Z — Sustainment Transition Capabilities](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0606829D8Z) (Defense-Wide) ## Source & machine access - **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0605804D8Z (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27). - **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0605804D8Z")`. *HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*