Does a product really pass a defence trial if it works in controlled conditions but fails to earn the user’s confidence in the field?
Testing is one of the most important stages in defence procurement. But what should a credible test actually establish? Is it enough to demonstrate that a product works, or must it also prove that it is safe, secure, trusted by its operators and capable of delivering the claimed performance under realistic conditions?
In Part 20 of Working with the Indian Defence Ecosystem: Defence Procurement – A Practitioner’s Perspective, Brigadier Narendra Pratap Singh examines how defence testing and evaluation could be made more effective.
The episode is built around four questions:
Does it work? Does the product perform under the terrain and operating conditions faced by the user?
Is it safe and secure? Have the relevant safety and cybersecurity requirements been addressed?
Will the user trust it? Do the people expected to operate the equipment have confidence in its performance?
Can the result be relied upon? Are the configuration, test conditions, results and limitations recorded well enough for others to use the findings?
Drawing on experiences from military trials and illustrative examples involving vehicles, drones, counter-drone systems and tactical communications, Brigadier Singh highlights five recurring problems:
Products failing to meet their own advertised performance claims, even when they may meet the actual operational requirement.
Trials that do not reflect the user’s terrain and operating conditions.
Individual systems being tested separately even though they must work together in the field.
The absence of common evaluation criteria for comparing competing products.
Test records that cannot easily be reused or relied upon.
The episode also examines why different technologies need different testing approaches. Long-life platforms such as tanks, artillery systems and aircraft require rigorous platform testing and long-term plans for software and electronics updates. Faster-evolving technologies such as drones and counter-drone systems may need shorter competitive trials and revalidation when configurations change materially. Digital capabilities, including AI models, software and cyber tools, require testing that accounts for changes between versions.
Brigadier Singh outlines practical improvements: agree claims and acceptance criteria before trials, test in realistic user conditions, involve actual operators, evaluate connected systems together, establish common criteria and maintain reusable records.
The episode also makes an important distinction: a successful test is not a purchase order. Testing can establish performance and inform procurement, but it cannot guarantee funding, prioritisation or an acquisition decision.
The Draft Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2026 is discussed as a proposal, not as an operative set of rules. Its provisions must be checked against the latest official position before being relied upon.
