Sec. 1618. Matters relating to the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile
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/bill/118/hr/2670/eas/section-1618·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment shall— establish a program for the development of a nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile capability; designate such program as an acquisition category 1D program, to be managed consistent with the provisions of Department of Defense Instruction 5000.85 (relating to major capability acquisition); initiate a nuclear weapon project for the W80–4 ALT warhead, at phase 6.2 of the phase 6.X process (relating to feasibility study and down select), to align with the program described in paragraph (1); submit to the National Nuclear Security Administration a formal request, through the Nuclear Weapons Council, for participation in and support for the W80–4 ALT warhead project; and designate the Department of the Navy as the military department to lead the W80–4 ALT nuclear weapon program for the Department of Defense.
The Secretary of Defense and the Administrator for Nuclear Security shall take such actions as necessary to ensure the program described in subsection
(a)achieves initial operational capability, as defined jointly by the Secretary of the Navy and the Commander of United States Strategic Command, by not later than fiscal year 2035. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment may not approve a Full Rate Production Decision or authorize Full Scale Production (as those terms are defined in the memorandum of the Nuclear Weapons Council entitled Procedural Guidelines for the Phase 6.X Process and dated April 19, 2000), for the W80–4 ALT program. Beginning not later than November 1, 2023, and on March 1 and September 1 of each year thereafter, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in coordination with the Secretary of the Navy, the Administrator for Nuclear Security, and the Commander of the United States Strategic Command, shall jointly brief the congressional defense committees on the progress of the program described in subsection (a). Each briefing required under paragraph
(1)shall include— a description of significant achievements of the program described in subsection
(a)completed during the period specified in paragraph
(3)and any planned objectives that were not achieved during such period; for the 180-day period following the briefing— planned objectives for the programs; and anticipated spending plans for the programs; a description of any notable technical hurdles that could impede timely completion of the programs; and any other information the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment considers appropriate. The period specified in this paragraph is— in the case of the first briefing required by paragraph (1), the 180-day period preceding the briefing; and in the case of any subsequent such briefing, the period since the previous such briefing. The requirement to provide briefings under paragraph
(1)shall terminate on the date that the program described in subsection
(a)achieve initial operational capability, as defined jointly by the Secretary of the Navy and the Commander of United States Strategic Command. In this section, the term phase 6.X process means the phase 6.X process for major stockpile sustainment activities set forth in the memorandum of the Nuclear Weapons Council entitled Procedural Guidelines for the Phase 6.X Process and dated April 19, 2000.