Operational Test & Eval Capability

This program element (PE) provides OPTEVFOR general support funding for headquarters annual operating expenses and ensures compliance with Secretary of War and Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) directives during the conduct of independent operational test and evaluation (OT&E). This funding supports planning, testing, and reporting on the operational effectiveness, suitability, and cyber survivability of new and improved systems and informs recommendations to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) regarding Fleet employment. Funding also supports initiatives, including the manpower required to execute them, that improve OPTEVFOR's ability to develop minimum adequate test strategies that maximize efficiency while minimizing the assets and time required to conduct operational testing. These efforts help reduce overall test and evaluation costs for the Navy. The CNO, as well as acquisition executives and managers at all levels, rely on timely and efficient OT&E to inform decisions on fielding new and upgraded warfighting capabilities to the Fleet. To support this requirement, funding enables OPTEVFOR to pursue initiatives that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of OT&E. These initiatives include developing organizational level metrics that inform command performance; improving information technology infrastructure to support planning, testing, analysis, and reporting; maximizing the use of operational test data collection opportunities while delivering timely insight to Fleet and acquisition decision makers across the Department of the Navy; and reducing the data collection burden through streamlined development of measures and data requirements during Mission Based Test Design. Collectively, these initiatives improve the quality of OT&E and help ensure combat systems are adequately tested prior to delivery to Fleet units. Issues identified during OT&E can have long term implications for Fleet readiness and warfighting capability. As adversaries continue to advance technologically and naval systems become increasingly complex, the demand for rigorous and timely technical and operational analysis continues to grow in order to ensure an optimal return on investment of Navy resources.

This project funds the civilian salaries and supports associated maintenance and sustainment of cyber hygiene and resiliency of network infrastructure, as well as enterprise IT services for OPTEVFOR operational support networks. Additionally, these funds ensure the hardware and software required to maintain is in compliance with cybersecurity directives that support command operations as required. The Cyber Pure funding under this project directly supports the Assessment & Authorization (A&A) of OPTEVFOR IT systems and the monthly patching and scanning, and reauthorization required for continuous monitoring.