EW/Cyber Technology Assessments by DOT&E: A Process Primer

The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) has a role, mandated by Congress, to conduct cyber assessments across the Department. Within the DOT&E Cyber Assessment Program (CAP), there is also a team focused on offensive cyberspace operations (OCO) and Non-Kinetic Effects (NKE). The DOT&E CAP OCO/NKE establishes an annual Campaign Plan to “establish a Cyber Readiness Campaign for OCO/NKE that can inform the Department on its ability to develop, test, and field OCO and NK-related capabilities and inform Commanders at all echelons how these capabilities are integrated and synchronized with Joint Fires to achieve an operational effect.” This highlights four lifecycle areas of interest: development, test/demonstration/experiment, integration, and synchronization. CAP OCO & NKE participation in all aspects of this lifecycle process places the team in a unique position to understand the systems in development and/or test for fielding and align these efforts with the combatant command’s objectives for integrating the systems into mission executions and support to the synchronization of the multi-domain operations plans. CAP OCO & NKE’s involvement in strategic support initiatives (e.g., DoDI 3600.03 rewrite, threat, and range realism, etc.) informs our approach across all lifecycle areas and enables timely influence for capabilities and employment processes. The knowledge and experience gained through the capability assessment facilitates and drives realistic planning, use cases, and scenarios for exercise planning and execution.