Wayne Allard: “This quote that I just shared describes exactly what he is doing with testing and the Missile Defense Program. Heavy…”

“This quote that I just shared describes exactly what he is doing with testing and the Missile Defense Program. Heavy involvement in the developmental test program, with the intent to achieve operational test goals during development, continued test evaluation assessments to keep the warfighter informed of system capabilities and limitations, and continuous evaluation after fielding to feed spiral development. That is the role the Director of the OT&E describes for himself, and that is the role he is playing in missile defense testing. Everyone on both sides of the aisle, and I would add everyone in the Pentagon, supports operational realistic testing of the ballistic missile defense system, and that is why we are building a missile defense test bed today. That is why the Director of OT&E has over 100 operational test agents influencing and providing input for the GMD. That is why military operators are being used in the tests. Perhaps more importantly, that is why operational test goals are incorporated into each developmental test. Now, make no mistake, the threat drives this program. We are building missile defenses to meet that threat. The test bed is needed to perform operationally realistic tests of the ballistic missile defense system and testing will proceed, becoming progressively more realistic, and will improve the system. Yet it is these same test bed capabilities that would afford us an early operational capability.”