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SEC. 806. DEVELOPMENT, PROTOTYPING, AND DEPLOYMENT OF WEAPON SYSTEM
COMPONENTS OR TECHNOLOGY.
(a) Development, Prototyping, and Deployment of Weapon
System Components or Technology.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 144B of title 10, United
States Code, as added by section 805, is further
amended by adding at the end the following new
subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER II--DEVELOPMENT, PROTOTYPING, AND DEPLOYMENT OF WEAPON
SYSTEM COMPONENTS OR TECHNOLOGY
``Sec.
``2447a. Weapon system component or technology prototype projects:
display of budget information.
``2447b. Weapon system component or technology prototype projects:
oversight.
``2447c. Requirements and limitations for weapon system component or
technology prototype projects.
``2447d. Mechanisms to speed deployment of successful weapon system
component or technology prototypes.
``2447e. Definition of weapon system component.
``Sec. 2447a. Weapon system component or technology prototype projects:
display of budget information
``(a) Requirements for Budget Display.--In the defense
budget materials for any fiscal year after fiscal year 2017,
the Secretary of Defense shall, with respect to advanced
component development and prototype activities (within the
research, development, test, and evaluation budget), set forth
the amounts requested for each of the following:
``(1) Acquisition programs of record.
``(2) Development, prototyping, and experimentation
of weapon system components or other technologies,
including those based on commercial items and
technologies, separate from acquisition programs of
record.
``(3) Other budget line items as determined by the
Secretary of Defense.
``(b) Additional Requirements.--For purposes of subsection
(a)(2), the amounts requested for development, prototyping, and
experimentation of weapon system components or other
technologies shall be--
``(1) structured into either capability, weapon
system component, or technology portfolios that reflect
the priority areas for prototype projects; and
``(2) justified with general descriptions of the
types of capability areas and technologies being funded
or expected to be funded during the fiscal year
concerned.
``(c) Definitions.--In this section, the terms `budget' and
`defense budget materials' have the meaning given those terms
in section 234 of this title.
``Sec. 2447b. Weapon system component or technology prototype projects:
oversight
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of each military
department shall establish an oversight board or identify a
similar existing group of senior advisors for managing
prototype projects for weapon system components and other
technologies and subsystems, including the use of funds for
such projects, within the military department concerned.
``(b) Membership.--Each oversight board shall be comprised
of senior officials with--
``(1) expertise in requirements; research,
development, test, and evaluation; acquisition; sustainment; or other relevant areas within the
military department concerned;
``(2) awareness of technology development
activities and opportunities in the Department of
Defense, industry, and other sources; and
``(3) awareness of the component capability
requirements of major weapon systems, including
scheduling and fielding goals for such component
capabilities.
``(c) Functions.--The functions of each oversight board are
as follows:
``(1) To issue a strategic plan every three years
that prioritizes the capability and weapon system
component portfolio areas for conducting prototype
projects, based on assessments of--
``(A) high priority warfighter needs;
``(B) capability gaps or readiness issues
with major weapon systems;
``(C) opportunities to incrementally
integrate new components into major weapon
systems based on commercial technology or
science and technology efforts that are
expected to be sufficiently mature to prototype
within three years; and
``(D) opportunities to reduce operation and
support costs of major weapon systems.
``(2) To annually recommend funding levels for
weapon system component or technology development and
prototype projects across capability or weapon system
component portfolios.
``(3) To annually recommend to the service
acquisition executive of the military department
concerned specific weapon system component or
technology development and prototype projects, subject
to the requirements and limitations in section 2447c of
this title.
``(4) To ensure projects are managed by experts
within the Department of Defense who are knowledgeable
in research, development, test, and evaluation and who
are aware of opportunities for incremental deployment
of component capabilities and other technologies to
major weapon systems or directly to support warfighting
capabilities.
``(5) To ensure projects are conducted in a manner
that allows for appropriate experimentation and
technology risk.
``(6) To ensure projects have a plan for technology
transition of the prototype into a fielded system,
program of record, or operational use, as appropriate,
upon successful achievement of technical and project
goals.
``(7) To ensure necessary technical, contracting,
and financial management resources are available to
support each project.
``(8) To submit to the congressional defense
committees a semiannual notification that includes the
following:
``(A) each weapon system component or
technology prototype project initiated during
the preceding six months, including an
explanation of each project and its required
funding.
``(B) the results achieved from weapon
system component prototype and technology
projects completed and tested during the
preceding six months.
``Sec. 2447c. Requirements and limitations for weapon system component
or technology prototype projects
``(a) Limitation on Prototype Project Duration.--A
prototype project shall be completed within two years of its
initiation.
``(b) Merit-based Selection Process.--A prototype project
shall be selected by the service acquisition executive of the
military department concerned through a merit-based selection
process that identifies the most promising, innovative, and
cost-effective prototypes that address one or more of the
elements set forth in subsection (c)(1) of section 2447b of
this title and are expected to be successfully demonstrated in
a relevant environment.
``(c) Type of Transaction.--Prototype projects shall be
funded through contracts, cooperative agreements, or other
transactions.
``(d) Funding Limit.--
(1) Each prototype project may not
exceed a total amount of $10,000,000 (based on fiscal year
2017 constant dollars), unless--
``(A) the Secretary of the military department, or
the Secretary's designee, approves a larger amount of
funding for the project, not to exceed $50,000,000; and
``(B) the Secretary, or the Secretary's designee,
submits to the congressional defense committees, within
30 days after approval of such funding for the project,
a notification that includes--
``(i) the project;
``(ii) expected funding for the project;
and
``(iii) a statement of the anticipated
outcome of the project.
``(2) The Secretary of Defense may adjust the amounts (and
the base fiscal year) provided in paragraph (1) on the basis of
Department of Defense escalation rates.
``(e) Related Prototype Authorities.--Prototype projects
that exceed the duration and funding limits established in this
section shall be pursued under the rapid prototyping process
established by section 804 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114-92; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note). In addition, nothing in this subchapter
shall affect the authority to carry out prototype projects
under section 2371b or any other section of this title related
to prototyping.
``Sec. 2447d. Mechanisms to speed deployment of successful weapon
system component or technology prototypes
``(a) Selection of Prototype Project for Production and
Rapid Fielding.--A weapon system component or technology
prototype project may be selected by the service acquisition
executive of the military department concerned for a follow-on
production contract or other transaction without the use of
competitive procedures, notwithstanding the requirements of
section 2304 of this title, if--
``(1) the follow-on production project addresses a
high priority warfighter need or reduces the costs of a
weapon system;
``(2) competitive procedures were used for the
selection of parties for participation in the original
prototype project;
``(3) the participants in the original prototype
project successfully completed the requirements of the
project; and
``(4) a prototype of the system to be procured was
demonstrated in a relevant environment.
``(b) Special Transfer Authority.--
(1) The Secretary of a
military department may, as specified in advance by
appropriations Acts, transfer funds that remain available for
obligation in procurement appropriation accounts of the
military department to fund the low-rate initial production of
the rapid fielding project until required funding for full-rate
production can be submitted and approved through the regular
budget process of the Department of Defense.
``(2) The funds transferred under this subsection to fund
the low-rate initial production of a rapid fielding project
shall be for a period not to exceed two years, the amount for
such period may not exceed $50,000,000, and the special
transfer authority provided in this subsection may not be used
more than once to fund procurement of a particular new or
upgraded system.
``(3) The special transfer authority provided in this
subsection is in addition to any other transfer authority
available to the Department of Defense.
``(c) Notification to Congress.--Within 30 days after the
service acquisition executive of a military department selects
a weapon system component or technology project for a follow-on
production contract or other transaction, the service
acquisition executive shall notify the congressional defense
committees of the selection and provide a brief description of
the rapid fielding project.
``Sec. 2447e. Definition of weapon system component
``In this subchapter, the term `weapon system component'
has the meaning given the term `major system component' in
section 2446a of this title.''.
(2) Effective date.--Subchapter II of chapter 144B
of title 10, United States Code, as added by paragraph
(1), shall take effect on January 1, 2017.
(b) Addition to Requirements Needed Before Milestone A
Approval.--Section 2366a(b) of such title is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph
(7);
(2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as
paragraph (9); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (7)
the following new paragraph (8):
``(8) that, with respect to a
program initiated after January 1, 2019, technology shall be
developed in the program (after Milestone A approval) only
if the milestone decision authority determines with a high
degree of confidence that such development will not delay
the fielding target of the program, or, if the milestone
decision authority does not make such determination for a
major system component being developed under the program,
the milestone decision authority ensures that the technology
related to the major system component shall be sufficiently
matured and demonstrated in a relevant environment (after
Milestone A approval) separate from the program using the
prototyping authorities in subchapter II of chapter 144B of
this title or other authorities, as appropriate, and have an
effective plan for adoption or insertion by the relevant
program; and''.
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Development, prototyping, and deployment of weapon system
components or technology (sec. 806)
The House amendment contained a provision (sec. 1702) that
would require a major defense acquisition program (MDAP) initiated after January
1, 2019, to include only technical development that the
milestone decision authority determines, with a high degree of
confidence, would not delay fielding target for the program.
Concurrent technology maturation and system development would
remain authorized, but only for technologies for which there is
high confidence that concurrency would not postpone fielding.
For higher risk technologies, the milestone decision authority
would use the new authorities provided in this section, or other
available authorities, to mature and demonstrate technologies
prior to initiating or separate from a program of record. This
section also would provide the military services with new
funding and acquisition flexibility to experiment with,
prototype, and rapidly deploy weapon system components and other
technologies.
The Senate bill contained no similar
provision.
The Senate recedes with an amendment
that would expand the considerations for planning and conducting
prototype projects to include existing commercial technologies
and opportunities to reduce operation and support costs of major
weapon systems. The amendment would clarify that the military
services can use an existing oversight board, if one exists, to
carry out the prototyping oversight requirements of this
provision. The amendment would require prototyping projects to
develop a plan for transition into a fielded system or
operational use. The amendment also would reduce the duration of
a project to 2 years and would clarify that the rapid
prototyping process established by section 804 of the Fiscal
Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 114-92)
should be pursued if projects exceed the duration and funding
limits of this provision. |
