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TITLE I--ACQUISITION ORGANIZATION

Section 104

House Conference Report 111-124

(a) Assessment by Director of Defense Research and Engineering-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 139a of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(c)(1) The Director of Defense Research and Engineering, in consultation with the Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation, shall periodically review and assess the technological maturity and integration risk of critical technologies of the major defense acquisition programs of the Department of Defense and report on the findings of such reviews and assessments to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

`(2) The Director shall submit to the Secretary of Defense and to the congressional defense committees by March 1 of each year a report on the technological maturity and integration risk of critical technologies of the major defense acquisition programs of the Department of Defense.'.

(2) FIRST ANNUAL REPORT- The first annual report under subsection (c)(2) of section 139a of title 10, United States Code (as added by paragraph (1)), shall be submitted to the congressional defense committees not later than March 1, 2010, and shall address the results of reviews and assessments conducted by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering pursuant to subsection (c)(1) of such section (as so added) during the preceding calendar year.

(b) Report on Resources for Implementation- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of Defense Research and Engineering shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report describing any additional resources that may be required by the Director, and by other research and engineering elements of the Department of Defense, to carry out the following:

(1) The requirements under the amendment made by subsection (a)(1).

(2) The technological maturity assessments required by section 2366b(a) of title 10, United States Code.

(3) The requirements of Department of Defense Instruction 5000, as revised.

(c) Technological Maturity Standards- Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, in consultation with the Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation, shall develop knowledge-based standards against which to measure the technological maturity and integration risk of critical technologies at key stages in the acquisition process for purposes of conducting the reviews and assessments of major defense acquisition programs required by subsection (c) of section 139a of title 10, United States Code (as so added).

Congressional Record, Senate, February 23, 2009, Summary of S. 454, the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, P. S2367

For years now, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that successful commercial firms use a ``knowledge-based'' product development process to introduce new products. Although DOD acquisition policy embraces this concept, requiring that technologies be demonstrated in a relevant environment prior to program initiation, the Department continues to fall short of this goal. Last Spring, GAO reviewed 72 of DOD's 95 major defense acquisition programs (MDAPs) and reported that 64 of the 72 fell short of the required level of product knowledge. According to GAO, 164 of the 356 critical technologies on these programs failed to meet even the minimum requirements for technological maturity. Section 103 would address this problem by making it the responsibility of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) to periodically review and assess the technological maturity of critical technologies used in MDAPs. The DDR&E's determinations would serve as a basis for determining whether a program is ready to enter the acquisition process.

House Committee on Armed Services Report 111-101 with H. R. 2101

This section would require the Director of Defense Research and Engineering to periodically review and assess the technological maturity and integration risk of critical technologies for major defense acquisition programs and submit any related findings to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. This section would require the Director to report annually to the Secretary of Defense and to the congressional defense committees on the maturity and risk of such technologies. It would also require the Director to report to the congressional defense committees on any additional resources required to implement this section, certain requirements applicable at milestone B, and the requirements of Department of Defense Instruction 5000.