Live Fire Test and Evaluation

The Live Fire Test and Evaluation (LFT&E) Program Element (PE 0605131OTE) is a critical component of the Department of Defense's (DoD) Operational Test and Evaluation, Defense budget, supporting statutory requirements for oversight of live fire testing. The overarching goal of LFT&E is to ensure that the vulnerability and survivability of crew-carrying platforms, as well as the lethality of conventional munitions, are thoroughly understood and deemed acceptable before systems enter full-rate production. This is achieved through realistic testing with actual or surrogate threat hardware, early identification and correction of design deficiencies, and comprehensive modeling and simulation (M&S) to assess survivability and lethality attributes not captured in physical tests.

The Joint Live Fire (JLF) program, initiated in 1984, focuses on evaluating vulnerabilities of fielded combat aircraft and armor systems, as well as the lethality of both U.S. and foreign weapons against their intended targets. JLF's objectives for FY 2025 and FY 2026 include developing and implementing tools, processes, and methods for credible full-spectrum survivability and lethality evaluations across the acquisition lifecycle. This involves defining standardized damage criteria, threat definitions, and target component taxonomy, as well as characterizing lethal mechanisms by threat category.

JLF is advancing integrated digital engineering, cloud-based software, and M&S tools to enable comprehensive analysis and test planning. Specific efforts include cyber effects modeling, non-kinetic effects testing, and methodologies for active protection systems and blast injury risk assessment.

The Joint Aircraft Survivability Program (JASP) serves as the DoD's focal point for enhancing military aircraft survivability against non-nuclear threats. JASP is chartered by senior leadership from the Navy, Army, and Air Force, and coordinates RDT&E to improve survivability technologies, design tools, and assessment methodologies. In FY 2025 and FY 2026, JASP will continue multi-year RDT&E projects and initiate new efforts to support National Defense Strategy objectives, such as improving threat situational awareness, defeating advanced guided threats, and enhancing aircraft force protection.

JASP also supports combat damage assessment through the Joint Combat Assessment Team (JCAT), provides training and educational materials, and facilitates information exchange within the aircraft survivability community.

The Joint Technical Coordinating Group for Munitions Effectiveness (JTCG/ME) is responsible for producing Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manuals (JMEMs), which are the DoD's sole source for authenticated non-nuclear weapons effectiveness data and methodologies. JTCG/ME's objectives include evolving weapons effectiveness and target vulnerability data, developing secure multi-domain targeting solutions, and supporting coalition interoperability. For FY 2025 and FY 2026, JTCG/ME will field new software tools, refine DevSecOps and cybersecurity processes, develop collateral effects reference tables, and conduct extensive training and user engagement.

The group also supports reach-back analysis for operational users, enhances battle damage assessment capabilities, and develops specialized tools for cyber operations, laser and high-power microwave weaponeering, and electronic attack effectiveness. JTCG/ME's planned efforts include hosting multiple user forums, training sessions, and working groups to collect requirements and support product development. The program will continue to deliver reach-back analysis packages for collateral damage mitigation and force protection, facilitate coalition partner support through Foreign Military Sales, and maintain foundational product information systems. JTCG/ME is also advancing next-generation maritime weaponeering tools, integrating physics-based modeling, and supporting urgent weapon/target pairings and sympathetic detonation studies.

Across all three programs, the LFT&E Program Element leverages Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) expertise for analysis and supports travel and coordination activities necessary for program execution. The budget reflects adjustments to promote efficiency and align with Executive Order 14222, reducing contracts for advisory services and FFRDCs. These changes are intended to advance government efficiency and cost-saving initiatives while maintaining robust support for survivability, lethality, and munitions effectiveness evaluation.