TESTING AND ASSESSMENT OF MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEMS PRIOR TO PRODUCTION AND DEPLOYMENT.

SEC. 1662. TESTING AND ASSESSMENT OF MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEMS PRIOR TO PRODUCTION AND DEPLOYMENT.(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—(1) it is a high priority of the United States that the ballistic missile defense system should work in an operationally effective and cost-effective manner;(2) prior to making final production decisions for such systems, and prior to the operational deployment of such systems, the United States should conduct operationally realistic intercept flight testing that should create sufficiently challenging operational conditions to establish confidence that such systems will work in an operationally effective and cost-effective manner when needed; and(3) in order to achieve these objectives, and to avoid post-production and post-deployment problems, it is essential for the Department of Defense to follow a “fly before you buy” approach to adequately test and assess the elements of the ballistic missile defense system before final production decisions or operational deployment.(b) Successful Testing Required Prior to Final Production or Operational Deployment.—The Secretary of Defense may not make a final production decision for, or operationally deploy, a covered system unless—(1) the Secretary ensures that—(A) sufficient and operationally realistic testing of the covered system is conducted to assess the performance of the covered system in order to inform a final production decision or an operational deployment decision; and(B) the results of such testing have demonstrated a high probability that the covered system—(i) will work in an operationally effective manner; and(ii) has the ability to accomplish the intended mission of the covered system;(2) the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation has carried out subsection (c) with respect to such covered system; and(3) the Commander of the United States Strategic Command has carried out subsection (d) with respect to such covered system.(c) Assessment by Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.—The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation shall—(1) provide to the Secretary the assessment of the Director, based on the available test data, of the sufficiency, adequacy, and results of the testing of each covered system, including an assessment of whether the covered system will be sufficiently effective, suitable, and survivable when needed; and(2) submit to the congressional defense committees a written summary of such assessment.128 STAT. 3658(d) Assessment by Commander of United States Strategic Command.—The Commander of the United States Strategic Command shall—(1) provide to the Secretary a military utility assessment of the operational utility of each covered system; and(2) not later than 30 days after providing such assessment to the Secretary, submit to the congressional defense committees a written summary of such assessment.(e) Rule of Construction.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter, modify, or otherwise affect a determination of the Secretary with respect to the participation of the Missile Defense Agency in the Joint Capabilities Integration Development System or the acquisition reporting process under the Department of Defense Directive 5000 series.(f) Covered System.—In this section, the term “covered system” means a new or substantially upgraded interceptor or weapon system of the ballistic missile defense system, other than the re-designed exo-atmospheric kill vehicle covered by the acquisition plan developed under section 1663.