Operational Testing of Foreign Built Weapons Systems

A survey was performed of the Department of Defense's conduct of operational test and evaluation (OT&E) of foreign built weapon systems purchased or under consideration for procurement by the Army and Navy. Generally, the operational testing of foreign systems was performed effectively. There are currently no regulations governing the testing of foreign built systems although Army, Navy, and Air Force officials felt that foreign equipment is subject to the same general test policies as domestically produced equipment. By not clearly setting forth regulations for testing these system, the potential for problems exists. The AV-8A aircraft was procured before operational testing was performed, and there are plans for the RAST to be procured prior to operational testing. In the past, many weapons systems that were procured before testing was completed required costly retrofits and/or had degraded capabilities. Regulations should be established which would require the services' operational test and evaluation organizations to perform OT&E on a foreign system prior to the procurement decision.