Sec. 143. Major weapon systems capability assessment process and procedure review and report
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The Secretary of Defense shall review, and modify as appropriate, the processes of the Department for the management of strategic risk with respect to capabilities of major weapon systems, including the processes for— ensuring the suitability of major weapon systems to address current and emerging military threats; and identifying for upgrade or replacement any fielded major weapon system that is not capable of effectively meeting operational requirements. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees and the Comptroller General of the United States a report containing the following:
A comprehensive description of the current policies and processes of the Department of Defense for— assessing the effectiveness, and the costs, of fielded major weapon systems in addressing the current, mid-term, and long-term threats identified in the contingency plans of the combatant commands; assessing tradeoffs, including in terms of resources, funding, time, capabilities, and programmatic and operational risk, between developing a new major weapon system compared to— continued use of a fielded major weapon system; and replacing a fielded major weapon system; developing strategies for the continued use or replacement of fielded major weapon systems that ensure that the capabilities of major weapon systems are viable and resilient against evolving threats; and developing and implementing plans for the replacement and divestment of fielded major weapon systems that manage the related strategic risk.
The key factors considered by the Secretary of Defense when applying the policies and processes described in paragraph (1). An assessment of the extent to which the policies and processes described in paragraph
(1)enable the Secretary of Defense to— evaluate, at regular intervals, whether a major weapon system— meets operational requirements; and is capable of addressing emerging and evolving threats identified in the National Defense Strategy; efficiently and effectively determine if a fielded major weapon system should continue to be used or replaced and divested and— with respect to a fielded major weapon system that should continue to be used, how long such use should continue; and with respect to a fielded major weapon system that should be replaced and divested— how long such replacement will take; the period over which such divestment should occur; and the expected improvements in the effectiveness of the replacement major weapon system to meet operational requirements; effectively implement the determinations described in subparagraph (B); and manage strategic risk relative to the effectiveness of major weapon systems meeting operational requirements. An identification of the fielded major weapon systems with respect to which the Secretary of Defense completed replacement or divestment during the period beginning on January 1, 2010, and ending on the date on which the report is submitted under this subsection. An assessment of the processes involved in the decisions of the Secretary of Defense to replace and divest the fielded major weapon systems identified under paragraph (4), including an assessment of the effectiveness in meeting operational requirements and the timeliness of those processes involved in making replacement decisions. An identification of any fielded major weapon systems with respect to which, as of the date on which the report is submitted under this subsection, the Secretary of Defense plans to complete replacement or divestment not later than December 31, 2035. An analysis of the plans of the Secretary of Defense with respect to replacing or divesting the fielded major weapon systems identified under paragraph (6), including— the rationale supporting such replacement or divestment plans; any anticipated challenges to carrying out the replacement or divestments; and a description of how the Secretary of Defense will manage at an appropriate level the strategic risk relative to the availability and effectiveness of the fielded major weapons systems to be divested, including a description of any risk mitigation plans. An identification of the major weapon system upgrade efforts and the research, development, and acquisition programs to replace fielded major weapon systems that the Secretary of Defense— began after December 31, 2009; or as of the date on which the report is submitted under this subsection, plans to begin not later than December 31, 2035. An assessment of how the replacement major weapon systems from the programs identified under paragraph
(8)will meet current and future operational requirements in the National Defense Strategy. The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a preliminary assessment and a detailed assessment of the report required under subsection (b). Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense submits to the Comptroller General the report required under subsection (b), the Comptroller General shall brief the congressional defense committees on the preliminary assessment of such report required under paragraph (1). The Comptroller General shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the findings of the detailed assessment required under paragraph (1). In this section: The term National Defense Strategy means the strategy required under section 113(g) of title 10, United States Code. The term major weapon system has the meaning given such term under section 2379(f) of title 10, United States Code. The term strategic risk means a risk arising from updating or replacing a major weapon system, or the decision to not update or replace a major weapon system.