›U.S. Air Force T&E Days 2010

The U.S. Air Force T&E Days conferences are attended by test and evaluation and acquisition professionals from the U.S. military services, allied nations, industry partners, and academia. They are popular because they offer a highly technical forum with unique opportunities to network with fellow professionals, discuss state-of-the-art advances in research, consider the impact of changes in the acquisition processes on test and evaluation, and share the latest test, analysis, and evaluation results.

T&E Days 2010 will be the sixth consecutive conference focused on instituting an enterprise approach to performing test and evaluation in support of weapon systems research, acquisition, development, test, and evaluation. The purpose of the T&E Enterprise is to transform the way test and evaluation is conducted to meet future weapon system research, development, test, evaluation, and acquisition requirements. Previous T&E Days themes were Shaping Capabilities of the Future (2004), Transforming the T&E Enterprise (2005), Aligning the Enterprise (2007), Furthering the Effectiveness of the Air Force T&E Enterprise (2008), and Operationalizing the Air Force T&E Enterprise Across Air, Space, and Cyberspace (2009). An additional purpose of the Air Force T&E Days is to showcase the results of a year-long T&E Enterprise collaborative effort.

The objectives of T&E Days 2010 are to:

• Share lessons learned, process and policy changes, and improved capabilities that promote effective operational T&E execution;
• Discuss T&E requirements needed to support future weapon system development and acquisition;
• Identify potential solutions to gaps in current T&E capabilities;
• Encourage T&E partnership opportunities across Air Force commands and among industry partners; and
• Foster technical workforce expertise and development through training, technical presentations, and discussions.

Through these objectives, T&E Days 2010 will continue to refine and implement the T&E Enterprise concept throughout the U.S. Air Force. As this paradigm shift unfolds, more emphasis will be placed on T&E resources and the efficient use of these resources in order to provide war-winning capabilities … on time, on cost. T&E Days 2010 will provide the forum that brings together the key players from the test and acquisition centers essential to the process of developmental and operational test and evaluation of systems.