USC Chapter 323

in effect

10 U.S.C. § 4321 Development of major defense acquisition programs: sustainment of system to be replaced

(a) Requirement for Sustaining Existing Forces.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall require that, whenever a new major defense acquisition program begins development, the defense acquisition authority responsible for that program shall develop a plan (to be known as a “sustainment plan”) for the existing system that the system under development is intended to replace. Any such sustainment plan shall provide for an appropriate level of budgeting for sustaining the existing system until the replacement system to be developed under the major defense acquisition program is fielded and assumes the majority of responsibility for the mission of the existing system. This section does not apply to a major defense acquisition that reaches initial operational capability before October 1, 2008. (2) In this section, the term “defense acquisition authority” means the Secretary of a military department or the commander of the United States Special Operations Command. (b) Sustainment Plan.—The Secretary of Defense shall require that each sustainment plan under this section include, at a minimum, the following:(1) The milestone schedule for the development of the major defense acquisition program, including the scheduled dates for low-rate initial production, initial operational capability, full-rate production, and full operational capability and the date as of when the replacement system is scheduled to assume the majority of responsibility for the mission of the existing system. (2) An analysis of the existing system to assess the following:(A) Anticipated funding levels necessary to—(i) ensure acceptable reliability and availability rates for the existing system; and (ii) maintain mission capability of the existing system against the relevant threats. (B) The extent to which it is necessary and appropriate to—(i) transfer mature technologies from the new system or other systems to enhance the mission capability of the existing system against relevant threats; and (ii) provide interoperability with the new system during the period from initial fielding until the new system assumes the majority of responsibility for the mission of the existing system. (c) Exceptions.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to a major defense acquisition program if the Secretary of Defense determines that—(1) the existing system is no longer relevant to the mission; (2) the mission has been eliminated; (3) the mission has been consolidated with another mission in such a manner that another existing system can adequately meet the mission requirements; or (4) the duration of time until the new system assumes the majority of responsibility for the existing system’s mission is sufficiently short so that mission availability, capability, interoperability, and force protection requirements are maintained. (d) Waiver.—The Secretary of Defense may waive the applicability of subsection (a) to a major defense acquisition program if the Secretary determines that, but for such a waiver, the Department would be unable to meet national security objectives. Whenever the Secretary makes such a determination and authorizes such a waiver, the Secretary shall submit notice of such waiver and of the Secretary’s determination and the reasons therefor in writing to the congressional defense committees.

10 U.S.C. § 4323 Sustainment reviews

(a) Review Required.—The Secretary of Defense shall require each Secretary of a military department, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, to conduct an assessment of the actual performance of each major weapon system against the operational readiness requirements and materiel readiness objectives (established under section 118(c) of this title). Each Secretary of a military department shall use such assessment to—(1) identify any factors contributing to the failure of a major weapon system to meet such requirements and objectives; (2) develop and implement a corrective action plan to address such factors in an expeditious manner; and (3) inform the submission of materials to Congress required by section 118(c)(2) of this title and the development of the future-years defense program required by section 221 of this title. (b) Submission to Congress.—Not later than five days after the date on which the budget of the President is submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, each Secretary of a military department, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that includes the following:(1) Findings from a review of the effectiveness of the life-cycle sustainment plan required under section 4324 of this title for a major weapon system. (2) A description of how such assessments informed the submission of materials to Congress required by section 118(c)(2) of this title and the development of the future-years defense program required by section 221 of this title. (3) For a covered system which has been declared to meet initial operational capability, and that for two consecutive calendar years has failed to meet established materiel readiness objectives for materiel availability or operational availability (as such terms are defined, respectively, in section 118 of this title), such report shall include—(A) an identification of factors contributing to such failure; (B) a mitigation plan to address supply, maintenance, or other issues contributing to such failure; and (C) a description of any corrective action plan required by subsection (a)(2) and an update on progress made in implementing such a plan. (4) A summary of actions taken by the Secretary to ensure that each covered system of the military department under the jurisdiction of the Secretary meets the applicable operational readiness requirements and materiel readiness objectives in the most cost-effective manner practicable. (c) Covered System Defined.—In this section, the term “covered system” has the meaning given in section 4324 of this title.

10 U.S.C. § 4324 Life-cycle management and product support

(a) In General.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that each covered system is supported by a performance-based life-cycle sustainment plan—(1) that is approved by the service acquisition executive responsible for such covered system; and (2) that meets applicable operational readiness requirements and materiel readiness objectives (established under section 118(c) of this title) in the most cost-effective manner practicable. (b) Life-cycle Sustainment Plan.—(1) A product support manager shall develop, update, and implement a life-cycle sustainment plan for each covered system for which the product support manager is responsible. Such plan shall include the following:(A) A comprehensive product support strategy that addresses each Integrated Product Support Element in a manner—(i) to best achieve operational readiness requirements and materiel readiness objectives throughout the planned life cycle of such system; and (ii) that allows evaluation and selection of product support integrators and product support providers appropriate to execute the product support strategy. (B) A life-cycle cost estimate for the covered system that—(i) is based on the product support strategy described in subparagraph (A); and (ii) if the covered system is a major defense acquisition program or major subprogram, is developed in accordance with the requirements to support a Milestone A approval, Milestone B approval, or Milestone C approval. (C) Recommended engineering and design considerations that support cost-effective sustainment of the covered system and best value solutions in life cycle planning and management. (D) An intellectual property management plan for product support developed in accordance with section 3774 of this title, including requirements for technical data, software, and modular open system approaches (as defined in section 4401 of this title). (E) A strategy to maximize use of public and private sector capabilities including public-private partnerships, when appropriate. (F) After consideration of the views received by the milestone decision authority from appropriate materiel, logistics, or fleet representatives, a plan to transition the covered system from production to initial fielding that addresses specific products or services required for successful initial fielding of the covered system, including—(i) a description of the necessary tooling or other unique support equipment, requirements for initial spare parts and components, technical handbooks and maintenance manuals, maintenance training, and facilities; (ii) an identification of the funding required to provide such products and services for any initial fielding location of the covered system; and (iii) an assessment of the required number of training simulators, including the initial operational capability and overall fielding of such simulators. (2) In developing each life-cycle sustainment plan required by this section, the product support manager shall—(A) consider affordability constraints and key cost factors that could affect operating and support costs during the life cycle of the covered system; (B) consider sustainment risks or challenges to sustaining the covered system in operational environments, including contested logistics environments (as defined in section 2926 of this title); (C) seek to comply with—(i) requirements to maintain a core logistics capability under section 2464 of this title; and (ii) limitations on the performance of depot-level maintenance of materiel under section 2466 of this title; (D) seek to integrate commercial best practices, use commercial standards, and use advanced technologies to enhance the product support of each covered system; and (E) seek to maintain a robust, resilient, and innovative defense industrial base to support requirements throughout the life cycle of the covered system. (d) 11 So in original. No subsec. (c) has been enacted. Definitions.—In this chapter:(1) The terms “milestone decision authority” and “Milestone A approval” have the meanings given, respectively, in section 4251 of this title. (2) The term “Milestone B approval” and “Milestone C approval” has the meaning given in section 4172 of this title. (3) The term “covered system” means—(A) a major defense acquisition program as defined in section 4201 of this title; (B) a major subprogram as described in section 4203 of this title; or (C) an acquisition program or project that is carried out using the rapid fielding or rapid prototyping acquisition pathway under section 3602 of this title that is estimated by the Secretary of Defense to require an eventual total expenditure described in section 4201(a)(2) of this title. (4) The term “critical readiness items of supply” means—(A) parts and systems designated as Mission Impaired Capability Awaiting Parts, Not Mission Capable Supply, or Casualty Report Category 3 or 4 status (as defined by the Secretary of Defense or a Secretary of a military department); or (B) parts or systems designated by the Secretary of Defense as negatively impacting the materiel readiness objectives of a covered system. (5) The term “Integrated Product Support Elements” means, with respect to a covered system—(A) product support management; (B) design interface; (C) sustaining engineering; (D) maintenance planning and management; (E) supply support; (F) support equipment; (G) technical data; (H) training and training support; (I) information technology systems continuous support; (J) facilities and infrastructure; (K) packaging, handling, storage, and transportation; and (L) manpower and personnel. (6) The term “product support” means the package of support functions required to field and sustain the readiness and operational capability of covered systems (including subsystems and components of such covered systems). (7) The term “product support arrangement”—(A) means a contract, task order, or another contractual arrangement, or any type of agreement or non-contractual arrangement entered into by the Federal Government, for the performance of sustainment or logistics support required for covered systems (including subsystems and components of such covered systems); and (B) includes arrangements for any of the following:(i) Performance-based logistics. (ii) Sustainment support. (iii) Contractor logistics support. (iv) Life-cycle product support. (8) The term “product support integrator” means an entity responsible for integrating private and public sources of product support within the scope of a product support arrangement. (9) The term “product support provider” means an entity that provides product support functions.

10 U.S.C. § 4325 Major weapon systems: assessment, management, and control of operating and support costs

(a) Guidance Required.—The Secretary of Defense shall issue and maintain guidance on actions to be taken to assess, manage, and control Department of Defense costs for the operation and support of major weapon systems. (b) Elements.—The guidance required by subsection (a) shall, at a minimum—(1) be issued in accordance with the requirements of section 118 of this title and in conjunction with the comprehensive guidance on life-cycle management and the development and implementation of product support strategies for major weapon systems required by section 4324 of this title; (2) require the military departments to retain each estimate of operating and support costs that is developed at any time during the life cycle of a major weapon system, together with supporting documentation used to develop the estimate; (3) require each Secretary of a military department to update estimates of operating and support costs periodically throughout the life cycle of a major weapon system, and make necessary adjustments to the life-cycle sustainment plan required by section 4324 of this title to ensure such major weapon system meets applicable operational readiness requirements and materiel readiness objectives (established in accordance with section 118(c) of this title) in the most cost-effective manner practicable; (4) establish policies and procedures for the collection, organization, maintenance, and availability of standardized data on operating and support costs for major weapon systems in accordance with section 2222 of this title; (5) establish standard requirements for the collection and reporting of data on operating and support costs for major weapon systems by contractors performing weapon system sustainment functions in an appropriate format, and develop contract clauses to ensure that contractors comply with such requirements; (6) require the military departments—(A) to collect and retain data from operational and developmental testing and evaluation on the reliability and maintainability of major weapon systems; and (B) to use such data to inform system design decisions, provide insight into sustainment costs, and inform estimates of operating and support costs for such systems; (7) require the military departments to ensure that sustainment factors are fully considered at key life-cycle management decision points and that appropriate measures are taken to reduce operating and support costs by influencing system design early in development, developing sound sustainment strategies, and addressing key drivers of costs; (8) require the military departments to conduct an independent logistics assessment of each major weapon system prior to key acquisition decision points (including milestone decisions) to identify features that are likely to drive future operating and support costs, changes to system design that could reduce such costs, and effective strategies for managing such costs; (9) prior to the Milestone B approval (or equivalent approval) for a major weapon system, require the Secretary concerned to ensure the completion of an intellectual property management plan for product support required under section 4324(b)(1)(D) of this title; and (10) require each Secretary of a military department to create and retain an independent cost estimate for the remainder of the life cycle of the covered weapon system every five years. (c) Major Weapon System Defined.—In this section, the term “major weapon system” has the meaning given that term in section 101(a) of this title.

10 U.S.C. § 4328 Weapon system design: sustainment factors

(a) In General.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the defense acquisition system gives ample emphasis to sustainment factors, particularly those factors that are affected principally by the design of a weapon system, in the development of a weapon system. (b) Requirements Process.—The Secretary shall ensure that reliability and maintainability are included in the performance attributes of the key performance parameter on sustainment during the development of capabilities requirements. (c) Solicitation and Award of Contracts.—(1) Requirement.—The program manager of a weapon system shall include in the solicitation for and terms of a covered contract for the weapon system clearly defined and measurable requirements for engineering activities and design specifications for reliability and maintainability. (2) Exception.—If the program manager determines that engineering activities and design specifications for reliability or maintainability should not be a requirement in a covered contract or a solicitation for such a contract, the program manager shall document in writing the justification for the decision. (3) Source selection criteria.—The Secretary shall ensure that sustainment factors, including reliability and maintainability, are given ample emphasis in the process for source selection. The Secretary shall encourage the use of objective reliability and maintainability criteria in the evaluation of competitive proposals. (d) Contract Performance.—(1) In general.—The Secretary shall ensure that the Department of Defense uses best practices for responding to the positive or negative performance of a contractor in meeting the sustainment requirements of a covered contract for a weapon system. The Secretary shall encourage the use of incentive fees and penalties as appropriate and authorized in paragraph (2) in all covered contracts for weapons systems. (2) Authority for incentive fees and penalties.—The Secretary of Defense is authorized to include in any covered contract provisions for the payment of incentive fees to the contractor based on achievement of design specification requirements for reliability and maintainability of weapons systems under the contract, or the imposition of penalties to be paid by the contractor to the Government for failure to achieve such design specification requirements. Information about such fees or penalties shall be included in the solicitation for any covered contract that includes such fees or penalties. (3) Measurement of reliability and maintainability.—In carrying out paragraph (2), the program manager shall base determinations of a contractor’s performance on reliability and maintainability data collected during the program. Such data collection and associated evaluation metrics shall be described in detail in the covered contract. To the maximum extent practicable, such data shall be shared with appropriate contractor and government organizations. (4) Notification.—The Secretary of Defense shall notify the congressional defense committees upon entering into a covered contract that includes incentive fees or penalties authorized in paragraph (2). (e) Covered Contract Defined.—In this section, the term “covered contract”, with respect to a weapon system, means a contract—(1) for the engineering and manufacturing development of a weapon system, including embedded software; or (2) for the production of a weapon system, including embedded software.