Testing in a Joint Environment Roadmap - U.S. Army Operational ...

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Testing in a Joint Environment Roadmap
by the program office responsible for the system that is under test, which should help defray
sustainment costs for their virtual representations.
This continual cycle of model-check-model will dramatically enhance available models and
simulations, ultimately improving confidence in the insight provided by them. Over time,
verification and validation data for virtual and constructive system representations will become
more readily available since comparison of constructive models with virtual and real systems,
and comparison of virtual systems with test data from real systems, will become available.
There are numerous efforts within DoD to develop and maintain constructive models and
virtual representations of systems and networks along with the required databases. The
envisioned joint mission infrastructure will have to leverage on those activities, adding or
modifying capabilities to meet the specific requirements for joint mission assessments. Because
the M&S efforts being used were developed for other specific applications, it will be necessary
to establish a comprehensive, yet efficient, accreditation process to ensure that existing
capabilities are adequate for joint force assessments. Accreditation of individual models, as well
as accreditation of the interactions required of those models, will be necessary. A structured
process will be established to take advantage of existing M&S verification and validation (V&V)
efforts, and to create additional V&V databases based on comparisons among constructive,
virtual and live test events within the joint mission infrastructure.
B.2.4.2 THREAT REPRESENTATIONS
Development or modification of threat representations (threat weapons and command and
control systems, as well as threat scenario development) will be required to support testing in a
joint environment. Developing a joint force infrastructure capable of replicating joint mission
environments will require close coordination with the intelligence community to develop virtual
and constructive simulations of red forces for a range of potential operational scenarios with
realistic signatures such as infrared, electro-optical and radio frequency. These threat
representations must be maintained and made available to the joint mission infrastructure similar
to the system representations. These threat representations must be integrated into both the live
and virtual domains as applicable.
B.2.4.3 ENVIRONMENT REPRESENTATIONS
A critical aspect to the joint mission infrastructure is a common context. There must be a
common understanding of the environment or the test results will be skewed. Representing and
generating the natural environment in a standard, computer-intelligible fashion is a mammoth
task. Each element of the environment – the Earth's shape, terrain, terrain features, urban areas,
bathymetry, sea state, atmospheric conditions, and the weather – must be represented in a
standard way. The Synthetic Environment Data Representation and Interchange Specification
B-10
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Appendix B