UAS Test, Evaluation, Verification, and Validation Course by Tonex

Public Offering Dates: August 10-12, 2026 at Armament University, Armament Graduate School, Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township, New Jersey. For registration info, send email to info@tonex.com

The UAS Test, Evaluation, Verification, and Validation Course is a three-day technical training program designed to provide engineers, program managers, test professionals, operators, acquisition personnel, and mission assurance teams with a practical understanding of how to plan, execute, evaluate, and document test and verification activities for unmanned aircraft systems.

The course covers the full UAS test lifecycle, from operational concept and requirements development through system verification, validation, mission assurance, reliability, maintainability, safety, and operational response. It also includes expanded coverage of counter-UAS architecture, drone detection technologies, escalation logic, and operational safety considerations.

This three-day format allows sufficient time for technical depth, applied exercises, case studies, and scenario-based discussions.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the UAS test, evaluation, verification, and validation lifecycle.
• Develop test strategies aligned with CONOPS, mission needs, system requirements, and operational risks.
• Distinguish between verification, validation, qualification, acceptance, and operational testing.
• Apply reliability, maintainability, and mission assurance principles to UAS programs.
• Develop verification matrices, test plans, test procedures, and evaluation criteria.
• Identify key test considerations for UAS platforms, payloads, autonomy, communications, ground control systems, and mission systems.
• Evaluate UAS system performance under operationally realistic conditions.
• Understand counter-UAS architectures and their test and evaluation implications.
• Compare drone detection technologies including RF, radar, EO/IR, and acoustic systems.
• Apply rules, safety controls, escalation logic, and operational response frameworks for UAS and counter-UAS missions.

Target Audience
This course is intended for:

• UAS engineers and system developers
• Test and evaluation professionals
• Verification and validation engineers
• Program managers and acquisition professionals
• Mission assurance and quality personnel
• Reliability and maintainability engineers
• Safety engineers
• UAS operators and mission planners
• Counter-UAS program teams
• Defense, homeland security, public safety, and critical infrastructure stakeholders

Prerequisites
Participants should have a basic understanding of unmanned aircraft systems, systems engineering, or test and evaluation concepts. Prior experience with aerospace, defense, aviation, robotics, or mission systems is helpful but not required.

Daily Course Agenda

Day 1: UAS Test, Evaluation, CONOPS, Requirements, and Verification

Module 1: UAS Test and Evaluation Overview Topics

• UAS system-of-systems overview
• Air vehicle, payload, data link, ground control station, launch/recovery, and support systems
• UAS lifecycle and acquisition/test phases
• Developmental testing, operational testing, acceptance testing, and field evaluation
• Verification vs. validation
• Qualification vs. certification
• Test objectives, test scope, test constraints, and test risk
• Role of test and evaluation in mission readiness Key Takeaways

Participants will understand how UAS T&E supports program decisions, mission confidence, safety, and operational effectiveness.

Module 2: CONOPS-Driven UAS Test Planning Topics

• Developing a UAS Concept of Operations
• Mission scenarios and operational use cases
• Stakeholder needs and mission threads
• Operational environments and threat conditions
• Mission profiles: ISR, logistics, inspection, strike support, communications relay, border security, disaster response
• Translating CONOPS into test objectives
• Operational realism in test design
• Scenario-based test planning

Exercise

Exercise 1: CONOPS-to-Test Mapping
Participants develop a high-level test strategy from a sample UAS CONOPS.

Module 3: Requirements Development and Verification Planning Topics

• Types of UAS requirements
o Functional requirements
o Performance requirements
o Interface requirements
o Safety requirements
o Cybersecurity requirements
o Environmental requirements
o Reliability and maintainability requirements
o Mission assurance requirements
• Requirements quality criteria

• Requirements traceability
• Verification methods:
o Inspection
o Analysis
o Demonstration
o Test
• Requirements Verification Matrix
• Verification success criteria
• Acceptance criteria
• Testable requirement writing

Workshop
Exercise 2: Building a Requirements Verification Matrix
Participants convert sample UAS requirements into a verification matrix with methods, test conditions, and evidence requirements.

Module 4: UAS System Architecture and Test Boundaries Topics

• UAS architecture decomposition
• Air vehicle test considerations
• Ground control station test considerations
• Payload and sensor test considerations
• Communications and datalink testing
• Navigation and timing
• Autonomy and control software
• Human-machine interface
• Launch and recovery systems
• Maintenance and support equipment
• Defining test boundaries and interfaces
• System integration testing

Discussion
Common causes of UAS test failures, including unclear requirements, unstable interfaces, incomplete CONOPS, and lack of operationally realistic test environments.

Day 2: Reliability, Maintainability, Mission Assurance, and UAS V&V

Module 5: Reliability, Maintainability, and Mission Assurance Topics

• Reliability concepts for UAS
• Mission reliability vs. component reliability
• Mean Time Between Failure
• Mean Time To Repair
• mission availability
• sortie generation rate
• failure modes and mission impact
• Maintainability analysis
• Supportability and logistics considerations
• Built-in test and diagnostics
• Prognostics and health monitoring
• Mission assurance planning
• Critical items and single points of failure
• Failure reporting, analysis, and corrective action systems
• Reliability growth testing
• Environmental stress screening
• Configuration management and test repeatability

Exercise

Exercise 3: UAS Mission Assurance Risk Review
Participants assess a sample UAS mission profile and identify reliability, maintainability, and mission assurance risks.

Module 6: UAS Verification and Validation Methods Topics

• Verification planning
• Validation planning
• Test readiness reviews
• Flight readiness reviews
• Safety review boards
• Ground testing
• Hardware-in-the-loop testing
• Software-in-the-loop testing
• Simulation-based testing
• Modeling and simulation for UAS V&V
• Lab testing vs. field testing
• Captive-carry testing
• Taxi testing
• Flight testing
• Operational demonstrations
• Data collection and instrumentation
• Test evidence and objective quality evidence

Workshop
Exercise 4: Selecting the Right V&V Method
Participants select appropriate V&V methods for different UAS requirements, including autonomy, communications, endurance, payload performance, and safety functions.

Module 7: UAS Flight Test Planning and Execution Topics

• Flight test planning process
• Test cards and test procedures
• Flight envelope expansion
• Test range coordination
• Airspace and regulatory considerations
• Risk assessment and mitigation
• Test crew roles and responsibilities
• Safety chase and range safety
• Emergency procedures
• Lost-link scenarios
• Return-to-home testing
• Geofencing and containment
• Data link performance testing
• Payload performance testing
• Weather and environmental constraints
• Test anomaly reporting
• Post-test debrief and corrective action

Exercise
Exercise 5: Flight Test Readiness Review
Participants evaluate whether a sample UAS system is ready for a controlled flight test event.

Module 8: UAS Data Analysis, Evaluation, and Reporting Topics

• Test data management
• Telemetry, logs, video, RF data, and sensor outputs
• Data quality and completeness
• Test scoring and evaluation criteria
• Pass/fail criteria
• Statistical confidence considerations
• Root cause analysis
• Deficiency reporting
• Test incident documentation
• Corrective action tracking
• Verification closure
• Validation evidence package
• Final test report structure Deliverable

Participants develop a sample test report outline for a UAS subsystem or mission scenario.

Day 3: Counter-UAS Architectures, Detection Technologies, Safety, Escalation, and Operational Response

Module 9: Counter-UAS Architecture Overview Topics

• Counter-UAS mission context
• Threat UAS categories
• Small UAS, Group 1–5 UAS, commercial drones, modified drones, autonomous systems, and swarms
• Counter-UAS system architecture
• Detect, track, identify, decide, respond, and assess framework
• Fixed-site vs. mobile counter-UAS systems
• Layered defense architecture
• Sensor fusion
• Command and control integration
• Rules-based decision support
• Human-in-the-loop and human-on-the-loop control
• Integration with air defense, public safety, and critical infrastructure security systems
• Test and evaluation challenges for counter-UAS systems

Exercise
Exercise 6: Counter-UAS Architecture Mapping
Participants design a layered counter-UAS architecture for a notional airport, base, or critical infrastructure site.

Module 10: Drone Detection Technologies Topics

• RF Detection
• RF signal detection
• Controller-drone link detection
• Protocol identification
• Direction finding
• Geolocation
• Strengths and limitations
• Challenges with autonomous or pre-programmed drones Radar Detection
• Radar fundamentals for small UAS detection
• Doppler signatures
• Low radar cross-section targets
• Clutter rejection
• Bird vs. drone discrimination
• Tracking performance
• Range, altitude, and coverage considerations EO/IR Detection
• Electro-optical sensors
• Infrared sensors
• Visual detection and classification
• Target recognition
• Day/night considerations
• Weather and obscurant impacts
• AI-assisted image recognition Acoustic Detection
• Acoustic signatures
• Microphone arrays
• Localization
• Urban noise challenges
• Range limitations
• Use as a complementary detection layer Sensor Fusion
• Multi-sensor correlation
• Confidence scoring
• False positives and false negatives
• Track management
• Alert prioritization

Workshop
Exercise 7: Detection Technology Trade Study
Participants compare RF, radar, EO/IR, and acoustic detection options for different operational scenarios.

Module 11: Rules, Safety, Escalation Logic, and Operational Response Topics

• Operational response framework
• Rules of engagement and rules of behavior
• Safety constraints
• Airspace safety
• Civil aviation considerations
• Public safety considerations
• Legal and policy constraints
• Authorization and command authority
• Escalation logic
• Alert levels and response thresholds
• Decision trees
• Human approval gates
• Non-kinetic response options
• Kinetic response considerations
• Electronic attack considerations
• Jamming safety concerns
• Spoofing considerations
• Capture and interdiction methods
• Collateral effects
• Evidence preservation
• Incident documentation
• Post-event review

Exercise
Exercise 8: Escalation Decision Table
Participants build an escalation logic table for a detected drone near a restricted facility.

Module 12: Integrated UAS and Counter-UAS Capstone Capstone Scenario

Participants work in teams to develop a test and evaluation approach for a UAS or counter-UAS mission scenario. The capstone includes:

• CONOPS summary
• Mission objectives
• Key requirements
• Verification matrix
• Test strategy
• Reliability and maintainability considerations
• Mission assurance risks
• Detection architecture, if counter-UAS focused
• Safety controls
• Escalation logic
• Operational response plan
• Test report structure

Team Deliverable
Each team presents a concise test and evaluation plan with recommended verification methods, operational risks, safety considerations, and mission assurance controls.