124 STAT. 2943 PUBLIC LAW 111–281—OCT. 15, 2010 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The analysis of alternatives shall be prepared by a federally funded research and development center, a qualified entity of the Department of Defense, or a similar independent third-party entity that has appropriate acquisition expertise and has no financial interest in any part of the acquisition project or program that is the subject of the analysis. At a minimum, the analysis of alternatives shall include— ‘‘(A) an assessment of the technical maturity of the capability or asset, and technical and other risks; ‘‘(B) an examination of capability, interoperability, and other advantages and disadvantages; ‘‘(C) an evaluation of whether different combinations or quantities of specific assets or capabilities could meet the Coast Guard’s overall performance needs; ‘‘(D) a discussion of key assumptions and variables, and sensitivity to change in such assumptions and vari- ables; ‘‘(E) when an alternative is an existing capability, asset, or prototype, an evaluation of relevant safety and performance records and costs; ‘‘(F) a calculation of life-cycle costs including— ‘‘(i) an examination of likely research and develop- ment costs and the levels of uncertainty associated with such estimated costs; ‘‘(ii) an examination of likely production and deployment costs and the levels of uncertainty associ- ated with such estimated costs; ‘‘(iii) an examination of likely operating and sup- port costs and the levels of uncertainty associated with such estimated costs; ‘‘(iv) if they are likely to be significant, an examina- tion of likely disposal costs and the levels of uncertainty associated with such estimated costs; and ‘‘(v) such additional measures as the Commandant or the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating determines to be necessary for appropriate evaluation of the capability or asset; and ‘‘(G) the business case for each viable alternative. ‘‘(d) TEST AND EVALUATION MASTER PLAN.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For any Level 1 or Level 2 acquisition project or program the Chief Acquisition Officer must approve a test and evaluation master plan specific to the acquisition project or program for the capability, asset, or subsystems of the capability or asset and intended to minimize technical, cost, and schedule risk as early as practicable in the develop- ment of the project or program. ‘‘(2) TEST AND EVALUATION STRATEGY.—The master plan shall— ‘‘(A) set forth an integrated test and evaluation strategy that will verify that capability-level or asset-level and sub- system-level design and development, including perform- ance and supportability, have been sufficiently proven before the capability, asset, or subsystem of the capability or asset is approved for production; and
