Sec. 245. Report on low-cost undersea effectors
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/bill/119/hr/3838/eh/section-245·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— the Defense Innovation Unit’s
(DIU)Low Cost Undersea Effectors Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), which seeks to demonstrate affordable, mission-specific small and medium unmanned underwater vehicles
(UUVs)capable of supporting subsea and seabed warfare, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), and expeditionary warfare, offers the potential to deliver kinetic effects, ISR, and expeditionary capabilities at low cost, with reduced training and logistics burdens, and in quantities sufficient to enable distributed maritime operations; the Low-Cost Undersea Effectors CSO should be fully funded and executed to its intended scope, with particular emphasis on transitioning viable systems to scaled production rapidly; the Secretary of the Navy should plan for and execute procurement of successful systems emerging from the Low-Cost Undersea Effectors CSO, including by leveraging Other Transaction Authority, rapid acquisition authorities, and appropriate research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) and procurement accounts; and early adoption of commercially derived, low-cost unmanned underwater vehicles will complement, rather than compete with, traditional programs of record, and will enable novel operational concepts ensuring our national security edge in undersea warfare. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy, in coordination with DIU, shall provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees on the Low-Cost Undersea Effectors CSO, including— the funding plan and execution status for the Low-Cost Undersea Effectors CSO; Navy plans to begin limited procurement of successful CSO awardees for operational experimentation and fleet integration; pathways for scaling production of low-cost UUVs; and steps to ensure small business and non-traditional defense contractors remain central to future acquisition in this domain.