Vulnerability and Lethality Assessment: The Role of Full-Up System-Level Live-Fire Testing and Evaluation

摘要

In this era of decreased defense budgets and limited resources, it is important for decision-makers to determine the optimal strategy for assessing the vulnerability or lethality (V/L) of a weapon system and the role of Full-Up System-Level Live-Fire Test and Evaluation (FU SL LFT&E) in that strategy. This report presents a foundation for a methodology to: (1) identify, measure, and categorize the costs and benefits of FU SL LFT&E; (2) determine the relative significance of FU SL LFT&E to the V/L assessment plan of the weapon system; and (3) compare competing V/L assessment plans for a system. Descriptions of the activities of FU SL LFT&E, the costs and benefits (i.e., impacts) of those activities, the complexities encountered in the reporting of the impacts, and approaches for addressing the complexities are presented. A discussion of the contributions of FU SL LFT&E to a V/L assessment strategy and suggestions for improving the cost-effectiveness of FU SL LFT&E are included. The Taxonomy of the V/L Analysis Process (Deitz and Ozolins 1989) is proposed as a framework for identifying the data voids to be addressed in a V/L assessment plan. The potential of adapting the principles of the Cost as an Independent Variable methodology to the evaluation of competing plans of V/L assessment is explored.