§4422. 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 4423 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.

(Added Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VIII, §806(a)(1), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2257 , §2447b; renumbered §4422 and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §1851(c)(1), (2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4272 .)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2021-Pub. L. 116–283, §1851(c)(1), renumbered section 2447b of this title as this section.

Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 116–283, §1851(c)(2), substituted "section 4423" for "section 2447c".

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2021 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 2017, see section 806(a)(2) of Pub. L. 114–328, set out as a note under section 4421 of this title.