Latest news with #DOT&E
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hegseth gutted Pentagon office that said it would oversee testing of Golden Dome missile defense system
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the gutting of a Pentagon office shortly after it disclosed that it would be overseeing the testing of President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defense system and the programs associated with the massive, multi-billion dollar project, multiple officials familiar with the matter told CNN. At the end of April, the little known Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation drafted and disseminated a memo to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and other DoD offices that put Golden Dome on its oversight list, in line with DoD instructions and laws requiring that a major defense acquisition program be tested before being fielded, the officials said. Days later, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency asked the office for a meeting. Musk's company, SpaceX, is among the companies vying for a role in developing Golden Dome. DOGE representatives asked DOT&E officials more about what they did and their plans for this year, officials said, and seemed surprised that much of the office's work was required by law. But there were no outward signs that the office was on the chopping block. On Wednesday, though, DOT&E employees were abruptly summoned to a meeting at the Pentagon and told that the office would be cut to just 30 people, down from over 100, the officials told CNN. Contractors would also no longer be assigned to support the office, per the new guidance. A defense official told CNN that they believe the administration was concerned about DOT&E conducting independent oversight of Golden Dome, and the problems it might uncover in the process. 'This administration only wants wins. They don't want bad news and they're getting bad news on all sorts of fronts,' the official said. 'DOT&E is an honest broker of information. We report the truth and that's all we do.' Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on Thursday that he is concerned that the move to gut the office 'appears retaliatory, driven by Mr. Hegseth's opposition to some of DOT&E's recent, legally required oversight decisions.' 'With staffing reduced to a skeleton crew and limited contractor backing, DOT&E may be unable to provide adequate oversight for critical military programs, risking operational readiness and taxpayer dollars,' Reed said, calling the decision 'politically motivated interference.' Asked for comment, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told CNN, 'The Department's reorganization of the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation will return DOT&E to its statutory intent as an oversight body and eliminate duplicative efforts. This decision has nothing to do with Golden Dome and everything to do with rooting out redundancies.' But officials CNN spoke to argued that DOT&E is not redundant—rather, it has a unique position as an independent auditor of equipment and systems used by all of the services across the military. It also does not have an enforcement mechanism and is not legally able to shut anything down if it uncovers problems when testing and evaluating various systems. Trump formally announced the plans for the project last week, and $25 billion has already been carved out in next year's defense budget for Golden Dome. But the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the US may have to spend more than $500 billion – over the course of 20 years – to develop a layered missile defense system of the size and scale Trump has demanded. The system will likely encompass over 100 separate programs and require establishing a large, interconnected network of government agencies and private contractors. Defense officials and industry executives largely agree that it will take years before a system like Golden Dome is fully operational, CNN has reported. But the Trump administration is already on the clock to prove that the concept can work in order to justify the future funding for the project. In a video posted to X on Wednesday, Hegseth said the office was restructured to allow the services to 'go faster with the capabilities that they need.' Another defense official said DOT&E had no intention of slowing down the project. But they did want to ensure it worked properly, and that it would be survivable and lethal against realistic threats. 'It's much cheaper and faster to find out problems quickly and get data as early as possible so we can determine whether the program is going to be effective,' the official said. The first official said that the massive reduction in staff and the fact that contractors will no longer be assigned to DOT&E will lead to some programs dropping off the office's radar and getting no scrutiny at all. 'It's concerning that there will be certain programs out there with potentially a lot of money being spent,' this official said. 'And we'll have no idea if it's being tested properly.' CNN's Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Behemoth Golden Dome may face lackluster scrutiny in Trump's Pentagon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision this week to cut more than half of the Pentagon's test and evaluation office personnel was driven, in part, by concerns over the office's plans to provide testing oversight for the Trump administration's $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense project, multiple sources told Defense News. In a memo released Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans to restructure the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, known as DOT&E, and reduce its 94-person staff to 46 — a mix of civilians, military personnel and one senior executive. The memo also put an end to all contractor support to the office. The decision sparked concerns from some congressional Democrats, including Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed, D-RI, who called the move 'reckless and damaging.' 'With staffing reduced to a skeleton crew and limited contractor backing, DOT&E may be unable to provide adequate oversight for critical military programs, risking operational readiness and taxpayer dollars,' Reed said in a statement. 'This kind of politically motivated interference undermines independent oversight and leaves warfighters and the public more vulnerable to untested, potentially flawed systems.' Hegseth said the reorganization is tied to the Pentagon's 'America First' strategy and was backed by an internal review that identified 'redundant, non-statutory functions' within the office. The analysis, he said, found that reducing personnel could save more than $300 million per year. But multiple sources familiar with the decision and granted anonymity to speak freely told Defense News the circumstances are more complicated than the scenario the secretary described in his memo. They pointed to perennial tensions between the military services and the office, stoked in recent months by an atmosphere of touting quick, programmatic successes that is antithetical to the exacting mission of verifying performance claims over time and under varying conditions. The sources also cited senior leadership's frustration with DOT&E's recent decision to add Golden Dome to its 'oversight list' as being the final provocation. 'It's a perfect storm,' one source said. The DOT&E office was created by Congress to provide independent oversight of major defense acquisition programs. Its leaders are required by law to approve testing plans and report results for all Defense Department programs whose total research and development cost exceeds $525 million —in 2020 dollars — or whose procurement is expected to cost more than $3 billion. The list of efforts under DOT&E oversight currently features over 250 programs, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Army's Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Navy's Aegis modernization program. The office's role as an overseer means its recommendations are sometimes unpopular with military service leaders and major defense contractors alike. But the aim of its rigorous, and often arduous, validation is to prevent the department from fielding faulty systems that could put service members in harm's way. Golden Dome's cost — estimated at $175 billion over the next three years — and its complexity make it a clear candidate for DOT&E oversight, the sources said. The process for initiating DOT&E oversight of a program is fairly straightforward, but when DOT&E's Acting Director Raymond O'Toole notified senior leaders in a recent memo that he planned to add Golden Dome to the list, the decision drew an unusual level of scrutiny. Officials worried the office's involvement would slow the program down and drive up its cost. They eventually elevated their concerns to the White House. That extra attention appears linked to President Donald Trump's interest in the program, one source said, noting the office was told the program 'needed to be successful for Mr. Trump.' Golden Dome became the president's signature defense project early in his second term. In a Jan. 27 memo, he directed the Pentagon to draft a plan for a layered network of ground-and space-based interceptors and sensors to detect, track and defeat a range of missile threats. Initially calling the project 'Iron Dome for America' after Israel's missile defense system of the same name, Trump rebranded it to 'Golden Dome' — a nod to his vision for a 'golden age in America' and perhaps his own penchant for the precious metal. In an Oval Office meeting last week, flanked by Hegseth and a top Space Force general — as well as multiple images depicting a map of the U.S. covered in gold — Trump said the Pentagon would deliver 'the best system ever built' before the end of his term. While there is wide agreement among defense officials and outside experts that the U.S. needs a more focused investment in its missile defense architecture, Trump's schedule and cost projections have raised eyebrows. With actual details on the project still slim, some have questioned whether Golden Dome's biggest technological lifts are feasible and worth the long-term cost. 'I don't think we should read much into the $175 billion figure because no details or caveats were provided,' said Todd Harrison, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute. 'I want to see something on paper that shows what's included, what's not included, and the time frame of the estimate.' This week's DOT&E cuts likely mean the office will be under-resourced to oversee all of the Defense Department's major programs, let alone Golden Dome. One source familiar with the office speculated the 'drastically reduced' staff could allow the Pentagon to get away with slimming down the office's oversight list. Reduced testing oversight could allow Golden Dome to move faster, but sources said it would be concerning for a program with such high-stakes ambitions to escape scrutiny. 'It would be hundreds of warheads coming in with all kinds of countermeasures, cyber attacks,' another source said. 'That's usually beyond the scope of a program and a service test office to be able to orchestrate all that.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hegseth orders Pentagon's testing office staff cut by more than half
The Senate Armed Services Committee's top Democrat is blasting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his decision this week to appoint a new director of the Pentagon's operational test enterprise and rapidly cut its staff by more than half. Hegseth said his directed reorganization, which would reduce the staff, budget and resources at the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), supports the Defense Department's 'America First' strategy, according to a Tuesday memo. But Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said Thursday the move is 'reckless and damaging' to military accountability and oversight. 'For decades, DOT&E has played a vital, legally mandated role in safeguarding the integrity of major defense programs and ensuring military systems are effective before they are put into warfighters' hands,' Reed said in a statement. He said Hegseth has given no logical reasoning for this action, and he is worried the move 'appears retaliatory, driven by Mr. Hegseth's opposition to some of DOT&E's recent, legally required oversight decisions.' The Pentagon chief's change up of the DOT&E will see its staff of 94 personnel — including 82 civilians and 12 service members — axed back in seven days to just 30 civilians, 15 military personnel and one senior leader, the newly appointed acting Director Carroll Quade. Quade, who was up until now the Navy's deputy for test and evaluation, takes over from Raymond O'Toole, who has served as acting director of the office since January and twice as an acting deputy director since January 2021. Hegseth also ordered all contractor personnel support to end within seven days of the memo's release. The Pentagon chief justified the cuts by claiming an internal review 'identified redundant, non-essential, non-statutory functions within ODOT&E that do not support operational agility or resource efficiency, affecting our ability to rapidly and effectively deploy the best systems to the warfighter.' He estimated the changes will save more than $300 million annually. The Defense Department's test and evaluation office is in charge of validating weapons and platforms across the U.S. military, setting policies, providing oversight and publishing annual testing updates on such major weapons programs as the F-35 fighter jet, the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Columbia-class submarine. But cutting the office back to a skeleton crew with limited contractor backing may prevent it from providing adequate oversight for critical military programs, 'risking operational readiness and taxpayer dollars,' Reed said. 'This kind of politically motivated interference undermines independent oversight and leaves warfighters and the public more vulnerable to untested, potentially flawed systems,' he added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Hegseth orders Pentagon's testing office staff cut by more than half
The Senate Armed Services Committee's top Democrat is blasting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his decision this week to appoint a new director of the Pentagon's operational test enterprise and rapidly cut its staff by more than half. Hegseth said his directed reorganization, which would reduce the staff, budget and resources at the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (ODOT&E), supports the Defense Department's 'America First' strategy, according to a Tuesday memo. But Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) on Thursday said the move is 'reckless and damaging' to military accountability and oversight. 'For decades, DOT&E has played a vital, legally mandated role in safeguarding the integrity of major defense programs and ensuring military systems are effective before they are put into warfighters' hands,' Reed said in a statement. He said Hegseth has given no logical reasoning for this action, and he is worried the move 'appears retaliatory, driven by Mr. Hegseth's opposition to some of DOT&E's recent, legally required oversight decisions.' The Pentagon chief's change up of ODOT&E will see its current staff of 94 personnel – including 82 civilians and 12 service members – axed back in just seven days to just 30 civilians, 15 military personnel and one senior leader, the newly appointed acting director Carroll Quade. Quade, up until now the Navy's deputy for test and evaluation, takes over from Raymond O'Toole, who has served as acting director of the office since January, and twice as an acting deputy director since January 2021. Hegseth also ordered all contractor personnel support to end within seven days of the memo's release. The Pentagon chief justified the cuts by claiming an internal review 'identified redundant, non-essential, non-statutory functions within ODOT&E that do not support operational agility or resource efficiency, affecting our ability to rapidly and effectively deploy the best systems to the warfighter.' He estimated the changes will save more than $300 million annually. DOD's test and evaluation office is in charge of validating weapons and platforms across the U.S. military, setting policies, providing oversight and publishing annual testing updates on such major weapons programs as the F-35 fighter jet, the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Columbia-class submarine. But cutting the office back to a skeleton crew with limited contractor backing may prevent it from providing adequate oversight for critical military programs, 'risking operational readiness and taxpayer dollars,' Reed said. 'This kind of politically motivated interference undermines independent oversight and leaves warfighters and the public more vulnerable to untested, potentially flawed systems,' he added.
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Hegseth guts the Pentagon's weapons testing office
A sweeping reorganization is weakening the Pentagon's office that tests weapons, an office established by Congress that has met plenty of resistance from the contractors who build weapons and the military leaders who buy them. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the cuts on Wednesday, releasing a memorandum on staff reductions, a leadership change, and pivot in focus. The Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation underwent "a comprehensive internal review," Hegseth said, which led to identifying "redundant, non-essential, non-statutory functions" not aligned with "operational agility or resource efficiency, affecting our ability to rapidly and effectively deploy the best systems to the warfighter." The office will "immediate eliminate" any non-statutory or redundant functions and be cut to a staff of 30 civilians and 15 assigned military personnel. Civilian personnel employed by military departments at ODOT&E will be transferred back to those departments, and other civilian employees will receive a reduction-in-force notice. An expert on military reform said these are the largest cuts to this office in its four-decade history and jeopardize its ability to ensure weapons are thoroughly tested before they get in soldiers' hands. The memo didn't note the previous workforce numbers of ODOT&E. Leadership of the office was also changed, with Hegseth appointing Carroll Quade, the deputy for test evaluation for the Navy, as director the office's acting director. The Pentagon's press office told Business Insider there was no further information on the matter at this time. In a video posted online, Hegseth said the move is planned to promote efficiency so "that warfighters get what they need faster." The defense secretary also said in his memo that the reorganization "will save more than $300 million per year and reflect the Department's commitment to continued reform and reducing bureaucracy." In a note released Thursday, Chief Pentagon spokesman and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell said the decision refocuses DOT&E to its "intent as an oversight body," would refocus on the acquisitions of weapons and systems, and "empowers the Services and Combatant Commands with greater trust to ensure the warfighter is efficiently equipped to address emerging challenges and to preserve our decisive advantage." DOT&E has acted as an independent reviewer of various weapons programs in the Pentagon's portfolio with the goal of ensuring that they're tested to meet the expected conditions of combat and the needs of troops before being purchased in high quantities. Much of the work of the office is pointing out weapons that are having problems or failing to meet timelines, such as the F-35 stealth figher. It has provided analysis of operational testing useful for Congress. DOT&E was established by Congress in 1983. The reorganization guts the office's capacity to observe the service's system tests, review the data, and conduct independent analysis, said Dan Grazier, a senior fellow and director of the national security reform program at the Stimson Center think tank. There have been proposed reforms over the decades, some of which would threaten the independence of the office. But this marks the most substantial overhaul since its creation over 40 years ago. "This policy change," he said, "is going to mean that new weapons systems are not going to face the level of scrutiny that they really need to" in order to "make sure that they are both effective and suitable for use of the troops before they make it into the hands of the troops." ODOT&E's role has been to ensure that personnel not connected to the service's programs or acquisition processes aren't the only ones reviewing the testing. It's a labor-intensive process, Grazier said, and because ODOT&E hasn't traditionally had a large workforce, it's often used contractor support. Without that independent analysis, Grazier has noted, there will be questions around the effectiveness of programs. "Unless the operational testing office maintains its current highly independent status, Congress and the American people may not know if the weapons they purchase for the military actually work as intended," he wrote for Stimson back in February. There have been some questions over the years from defense officials, lawmakers in Washington, and experts about the defined roles of DOT&E, how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and autonomy can and should be evaluated for warfighter use, and what's required for realistic combat testing of systems. Hegseth's reorganization of the office falls in line with a broad campaign in the Trump administration to identify what it views as needless bureaucracy, as well as limit independent assessment by officials. Days after taking office in January, President Donald Trump removed 17 inspector generals from across the government, including at the Defense Department; these officials led internal watchdogs charged with investigating wasteful spending and fraud. The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been a leading effort to rapidly slash government spending, but there have been concerns and criticisms about how DOGE collects its data on government spending and programs — and determines what should be cut.
