Evidence limitation
Range success is not operational readiness
Direct limitation
Test success does not establish live deployment, sustainment, current authorization, environmental robustness, or present operation.
Artifact or claim that may be supported
A system may perform well in simulation, a cyber range, or hardware-in-the-loop testing.
What the evidence does not establish
Test success does not establish live deployment, sustainment, current authorization, environmental robustness, or present operation.
Additional evidence required
Demonstration evidence can be marketed as a fielded capability and distort procurement or mission decisions.
Mitigation
Use staged readiness records with exact environment, release, test coverage, defects, residual risk, deployment, uptime, and last verification.
Supporting sources
- DoD Directive 3000.09 — Autonomy in Weapon Systems — U.S. Department of Defense; DoDD 3000.09, January 25, 2023; Department of Defense Directive. Exact claim-support entries: 2. Revalidated 2026-08-15T20:00:00Z.