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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS

Subtitle H — Other Matters

P. L. 115-

House Conference Report. 115-874

(a) In General.—Section 139(e) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(4) The Director shall have prompt access to all data regarding modeling and simulation activity proposed to be used by military departments and defense agencies in support of operational or live fire test and evaluation of military capabilities. This access shall include data associated with verification, validation, and accreditation activities.”.

(b) Additional Testing Data.—Developmental Test and Evaluation activities under the leadership of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment shall have prompt access to all data regarding modeling and simulation activity proposed to be used by military departments and defense agencies in support of developmental test and evaluation of military capabilities. This access shall include data associated with verification, validation, and accreditation activities.

The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 895) that would ensure the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, and other developmental testing organizations be given access to all data associated with modeling and simulation activities supporting the acquisition of military capabilities.

The House bill contained no similar provision.

The House recedes.

The conferees note that modeling and simulation tools and activities are critical to reducing risk in technology development initiatives and acquisition programs. The conferees note the use of modeling and simulation to reduce risk in operational or live fire test and evaluation is especially relevant when operational conditions are difficult or expensive to replicate in testing certain military capabilities, such as: performance of systems in space, intercept capability of ballistic missile defense systems, and a ship’s ability to withstand shocks. The conferees also note that given the increasing use of software-driven capabilities, modeling and simulation is also beneficial during developmental testing and evaluation, including modeling and simulating complex cyber threats to facilitate accurate assessments of security features. The conferees understand that Department of Defense policies require models to be verified, validated, and accredited in order to be deemed effective at reducing risk and cost, as well as to improve understanding and predictability of system performance. The conferees are concerned that despite these Department policies, programs and initiatives are using models in lieu of real world testing, even though they have not been verified, validated, and accredited. Accordingly, this provision would direct developmental and operational test organizations be given access to all data associated with verification, validation, and accreditation of modeling and simulation activities to ensure development, production, and fielding decisions that depend on outcomes from such activities are fully informed. The conferees also urge the Department to continue efforts to improve the quality and fidelity of computer models for use in test and evaluation activities.