Test Program Composition and the Transition to Mdap

Some program participants believe that neither the content of the flight test program (what was done) nor its approach (how it was done) was greatly affected by its acquisition strategy. These participants assert that test program management would have been similar under a traditional acquisition approach. Indeed, evidence suggests that the dominant influence on the pace and structure of the test program was the nature of the system; until the HAE UAV ACTD program, very little experience had been accumulated with large autonomous UAVs. System characteristics determined both the profile in which flight hours were accumulated over time and the types of tests that were conducted (e.g., minimal envelope expansion testing). However, the level of system maturity attained at the conclusion of the ACTD was akin to being partway through an EMD flight test program. This creates uncertainty in structuring the post-ACTD flight test program.