650258 MilitaryVehicleTesting B. D.Sissom u.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command THE U.S. ARMYTestandEvaluation Command is arela­ tivelyneworganization of the Army and was activated in August, 1962. Studiesmadeprior to the Army'sreorganiza­ tionreported duplication oftesting,inadequate testingin someinstances, and toomuchtestinginothers.andindi­ catedagenerallackoftestcoordination. Theconsolida­ tionofallseparate majortestactivities into one command wasaimedateliminating thesedeficiencies and atprovid­ ing the Army with a sound materiel testprogram thatwould providedependable evaluations in aminimum oftime.The accomplishment oftheseobjectives is not asmalltask nor an easyone.Some progress has been made.Much is yet to beaccomplished. Thispaper.bycovering thesubject. "Military Vehicle Testing," provides abriefinsightinto theorganization. func­ tions.andhopes of this new command. Inaddition. theproc­ esses of testplanning, typesoftestconsidered essential, facilities used, and the everimportant phase of evaluating testresults are discussed. THE TEST ORGANIZA TION TheTestandEvaluation Command, amajorelement oftheU.S. Army Materiel Command, has itsheadquarters locatedatAberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Overall, it iscomposed of19.000personnel, bothmilitary andci­ vilian.locatedateightproving grounds and ranges, sixserv­ icetest boards and threeenvironmental testcenters. Since military equipment must be designed tooperateworldwide underallterrainandclimatic conditions, testsites are lo­ catedfrom the cold regions of Alaskato thetropicsofPan­ ama(Fig. 1). In between theseareaslieheatand sand. swamps and mud. rivers and lakes.plainsandmountains. againstwhichmilitary equipment ispitted. The mission of TECOM, as it is commonly called,isto provideimpartial andindependent testsandevaluations of equipment proposed for military use. While the approvednomenclature testlistidentifies 19 test types conducted by theTestandEvaluation Command, forpractical purposes theycanbeconsolidated into two generalgroups: 1.Engineering (technical) andservice(military oriented) tests,whichareconducted onallnewmateriel todetermine itssuitability forArmyuse prior to production. 2. Those tests conducted as aservicetodeveloping com­ moditycommands andprojectmanagers. Such tests may involveevaluation of newideasformilitary potential. gath­ eringof design testdataonexperimental components under fieldtestconditions. or spotchecking production materiel toensurethatadequate standards ofqualityarebeingmain­ tainedby themanufacturer. RATIONALE FORTESTING Testis anintegral part ofresearch. development, and production processes. Itis not an end in itself.but ameas­ ure ofproductcorrectiveness. suitability. andquality.Ef­ ficienttestingmust have thecharacteristics discussed be­ low. OBJECTIVE - As arule.thetestengineer shouldbein­ dependent from the designer. It isagainsthumannature for one to criticize his ownhandiwork. Beingobjective does notmeanthattheexperience andjudgment ofqualified per­ sons are not necessary intestplanning and inevaluation of results. Rather,testdesign must be oriented towardproduc­ ingmeaningful andfactualdata,eliminating inherenttend­ enciesofpersonal bias. REALISTIC -Testemphasis mustbewithintherealmof thevehicle' smission. Thatis,testson acargotruckshould beprimarily gearedtowarddetermining thatitwillproperly haulcargo(andspecialloads)underprescribed terrainand environmental conditions. The10/0problems. thatis,seek­ ing out a circumstance seldomfound in nature.shouldbe avoided. --------------------------------------ABSTRACT One purpose of the Army'sreorganization in 1962 was toconsolidate andstreamline testingof itsmateriel. Ob­ jectivesof theArmy'snewtestorganization, theTest and Evaluation Command. arebrieflydiscussed. The scope oftestingonmilitary vehicles. including testplanning. type of testsconducted facilities used. and reporting procedures. areoutlined. Evaluation oftestresultsis compared against military requirements.Downloaded from SAE