Sec. 1674. STUDY OF WEAPONS PROGRAMS THAT ALLOW ARMED FORCES TO ADDRESS HARD AND DEEPLY BURIED TARGETS

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## SEC. 1674 STUDY OF WEAPONS PROGRAMS THAT ALLOW ARMED FORCES TO ADDRESS HARD AND DEEPLY BURIED TARGETS ###

(a)Study Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commander of the United States Strategic Command, and the Administrator for Nuclear Security, and in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the congressional defense committees a study on options to hold at risk hard and deeply buried targets. ###

(b)Elements The study under subsection

(a)shall include the following: ####

(1)An analysis of the current and emerging hard and deeply buried target mission set and associated military requirements, including— #####

(A)the number and locations of the targets, including facilities designed for the storage or manufacture of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons and the precursors of such weapons; #####

(B)an identification of likely future trajectories in the worldwide use and proliferation of hard and deeply buried targets; #####

(C)the associated military requirements, including the importance of effectively holding hard and deeply buried targets at risk in order to meet the national security objectives of the United States; and #####

(D)an evaluation of the sufficiency of current and planned nuclear and nonnuclear military capabilities to satisfy such requirements. ####

(2)An evaluation of weapons programs that would allow the Armed Forces to effectively hold hard and deeply buried targets at risk, including— #####

(A)any nuclear or nonnuclear weapon and delivery system the Secretary determines appropriate, including the cost, timeline for fielding, and likely effectiveness of any capability under consideration; and #####

(B)an assessment of a service life extension or modification program of the B83 nuclear gravity bomb as one of the options. ####

(3)A proposed strategy for fielding such capabilities in sufficient quantities and making other adjustments to the strategy and plans of the United States to account for the growing hard and deeply buried target set, including— #####

(A)the resources, research and development efforts, and capability options needed; and #####

(B)a five-year funding profile for, at a minimum— ######

(i)a preferred capability; and ######

(ii)an alternative capability evaluated under paragraph

(2)that meets the requirements under paragraph (1). ###

(c)Form The study under subsection

(a)shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. ###

(d)Briefing Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary completes the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a briefing on the findings and recommendations of the study. ###

(e)Limitation on Use of Funds Except as provided by subsection (f), none of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2023 or fiscal year 2024 for the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy for the deactivation, dismantlement, or retirement of the B83-1 nuclear gravity bomb may be obligated or expended to deactivate, dismantle, or retire more than 25 percent of the B83-1 nuclear gravity bombs that were in the active stockpile as of September 30, 2022, until 90 days after the Secretary submits to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives the study under subsection (a). ###

(f)Exception The limitation on the use of funds under subsection

(e)shall not apply to the deactivation, dismantling, or retirement of B83-1 nuclear gravity bombs for the purpose of supporting safety and surveillance, sustainment, life extension, or modification programs for the B83-1 or other weapons currently in, or planned to become part of, the nuclear weapons stockpile of the United States. ###

(g)Authorization For fiscal year 2024, the Secretary of Energy may carry out activities related to the development and modification of a nuclear weapon to provide near-term capabilities that address portions of the strategy required by subsection (b)(3) using amounts authorized and appropriated for the sustainment of the B83-1 nuclear gravity bomb. # TITLE XVII MUNITIONS REPLENISHMENT AND FUTURE PROCUREMENT