10 U.S.C. § 4061 — Defense Research and Development Rapid

Page 2641 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 4061 § 4061. Defense Research and Development Rapid Innovation Program (a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a competitive, merit- based program to enable and assist small busi- nesses to accelerate the commercialization of various technologies, including critical tech- nologies developed pursuant to phase II Small Business Innovation Research Program projects, phase II Small Business Technology Transfer Program projects, technologies developed by the defense laboratories, capabilities developed through competitively awarded prototype agree- ments and other innovative technologies (in- cluding dual use technologies). (2) The purpose of this program is to stimulate innovative technologies and reduce acquisition or lifecycle costs, address technical risks, im- prove the timeliness and thoroughness of test and evaluation outcomes, support the integra- tion of such products, and rapidly insert such products directly in support of primarily major defense acquisition programs, but also other de- fense acquisition programs that meet critical national security needs. (b) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall issue guidelines for the operation of the program. At a minimum such guidance shall provide for the following: (1) The issuance of one or more broad agency announcements or the use of any other com- petitive or merit-based processes by the De- partment of Defense for candidate proposals in support of primarily major defense acquisition programs, but also other defense acquisition programs as described in subsection (a). (2) The review of candidate proposals by the Department of Defense and by each Office of Small Business Programs of each military de- partment and the merit-based selection of the most promising cost-effective proposals for funding through contracts, cooperative agree- ments, and other transactions for the purposes of carrying out the program. (3) The total amount of funding provided to any project under the program from funding provided under subsection (d) shall not exceed $6,000,000. (4) No project shall receive more than a total of two years of funding under the program from funding provided under subsection (d), unless the Secretary, or the Secretary’s des- ignee, approves funding for any additional year. (5) Mechanisms to facilitate transition of follow-on or current projects carried out under the program into defense acquisition pro- grams, through the use of the authorities of section 4004 of this title or such other authori- ties as may be appropriate to conduct further testing, low rate production, or full rate pro- duction of technologies developed under the program. (6) Projects are selected using merit-based selection procedures and the selection of projects is not subject to undue influence by Congress or other Federal agencies. (7) A preference under the program for fund- ing small business concerns. (c) TREATMENT PURSUANT TO CERTAIN CON- GRESSIONAL RULES.—Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require or enable any of- ficial of the Department of Defense to provide funding under this section to any earmark as de- fined pursuant to House Rule XXI, clause 9, or any congressionally directed spending item as defined pursuant to Senate Rule XLIV, para- graph 5. (d) FUNDING.—(1) Subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose and to the limi- tation under paragraph (2), the amounts author- ized to be appropriated for research, develop- ment, test, and evaluation for a fiscal year may be used for such fiscal year for the program es- tablished under subsection (a). (2) During any fiscal year, the total amount of awards in an amount greater than $6,000,000 made under the program established under sub- section (a) may not exceed 25 percent of the amount made available to carry out such pro- gram during such fiscal year. (e) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—(1) The Secretary may transfer funds available for the program to the research, development, test, and evaluation accounts of a military department, defense agency, or the unified combatant command for special operations forces pursuant to a proposal, or any part of a proposal, that the Secretary de- termines would directly support the purposes of the program. (2) The transfer authority provided in this sub- section is in addition to any other transfer au- thority available to the Department of Defense. (Added Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title II, § 224(a)(1), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1683, § 2359a; amended Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title VIII, § 878(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1530; renumbered § 4061 and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §§ 1842(b), 1883(b)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4244, 4294; Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XVII, § 1701(d)(8), (q)(1), (u)(3)(B), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2136, 2148, 2152; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title VIII, § 860, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 346.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 4061 was renumbered section 7381 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2023—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 118–31, § 860(1)(A), inserted ‘‘to enable and assist small businesses’’ after ‘‘merit- based program’’ and ‘‘capabilities developed through competitively awarded prototype agreements’’ after ‘‘defense laboratories,’’ and substituted ‘‘commer- cialization of various technologies, including critical technologies’’ for ‘‘fielding of technologies’’. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 118–31, § 860(1)(B), inserted ‘‘support the integration of such products,’’ after ‘‘eval- uation outcomes,’’. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 118–31, § 860(2)(A), inserted ‘‘pri- marily major defense acquisition programs, but also other’’ after ‘‘candidate proposals in support of’’. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 118–31, § 860(2)(B), substituted ‘‘by each Office of Small Business Programs of each military department’’ for ‘‘by each military depart- ment’’. Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 118–31, § 860(3), substituted ‘‘$6,000,000’’ for ‘‘$3,000,000’’. 2021—Pub. L. 116–283, § 1842(b), as amended by Pub. L. 117–81, § 1701(q)(1), (u)(3)(B), renumbered section 2359a of this title as this section. Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 117–81, § 1701(d)(8), which di- rected the substitution of ‘‘section 4004’’ for ‘‘section Page 2642 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 4062 2302e’’, could not be executed because of the inter- vening amendment by Pub. L. 116–283, § 1883(b)(2). See note below. Pub. L. 116–283, § 1883(b)(2), substituted ‘‘section 4004’’ for ‘‘section 2302e’’. 2019—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116–92, § 878(a)(1), inserted ‘‘phase II Small Business Technology Transfer Program projects,’’ after ‘‘projects,’’. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 116–92, § 878(a)(2)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘$6,000,000.’’ for ‘‘$3,000,000, unless the Sec- retary, or the Secretary’s designee, approves a larger amount of funding for the project.’’ Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 116–92, § 878(a)(2)(B), added par. (7). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–92, § 878(a)(3), designated ex- isting provisions as par. (1), inserted ‘‘and to the limi- tation under paragraph (2)’’ after ‘‘for such purpose’’, and added par. (2). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2021 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 1701(d)(8) of Pub. L. 117–81 to take effect immediately after the amendments made by title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283 have taken effect, see sec- tion 1701(a)(3) of Pub. L. 117–81, set out in a note pre- ceding section 3001 of this title and note below. Amendment by section 1701(q)(1), (u)(3)(B) of Pub. L. 117–81 applicable as if included in the enactment of title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283 as enacted, see section 1701(a)(2) of Pub. L. 117–81, set out in a note preceding section 3001 of this title and note below. 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. REGIONAL ACTIVITIES Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title II, § 213(b), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1589, provided that: ‘‘Subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Secretary of De- fense may expand the efforts of the Defense Innovation Unit to engage and collaborate with private-sector in- dustry and communities in various regions of the United States— ‘‘(1) to accelerate the adoption of commercially de- veloped advanced technology in modernization pri- ority areas and such other key technology areas as may be identified by the Secretary; and ‘‘(2) to expand outreach to communities that do not otherwise have a Defense Innovation Unit presence, including economically disadvantaged communities.’’ PILOT PROGRAM TO ACCELERATE THE PROCUREMENT AND FIELDING OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title VIII, § 834, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1835, as amended by Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title VIII, § 845, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2720, which authorized the Secretary of Defense to establish a competitive, merit-based pilot program to accelerate the procure- ment and fielding of innovative technologies and re- quired the Secretary to issue guidelines for the oper- ation of such pilot program, was repealed by Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title VIII, § 861(b), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2000. See section 3604 of this title. § 4062. Defense Acquisition Challenge Program (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—(1) The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, shall carry out a program to provide opportunities for the increased introduction of innovative and cost-saving technology in acquisition programs of the Department of Defense. (2) The program, to be known as the Defense Acquisition Challenge Program (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Challenge Pro- gram’’), shall provide any person or activity within or outside the Department of Defense with the opportunity to propose alternatives, to be known as challenge proposals, at the compo- nent, subsystem, system, or system-of-systems level of an existing Department of Defense ac- quisition program, or to address any broader functional challenge to Department of Defense missions that may not fall within an acquisition program, that would result in improvements in performance, affordability, manufacturability, or operational capability of that acquisition program or function. (b) PANELS.—The Under Secretary shall estab- lish one or more panels of highly qualified sci- entists and engineers (hereinafter in this section referred to as ‘‘Panels’’) to provide preliminary evaluations of challenge proposals under sub- section (c). (c) PRELIMINARY EVALUATION BY PANELS.—(1) Under procedures prescribed by the Under Sec- retary, a person or activity within or outside the Department of Defense may submit chal- lenge proposals to a Panel, through the unsolic- ited proposal process or in response to a broad agency announcement. (2) The Under Secretary shall establish proce- dures pursuant to which appropriate officials of the Department of Defense may identify pro- posals submitted through the unsolicited pro- posal process as challenge proposals. The proce- dures shall provide for the expeditious referral of such proposals to a Panel for preliminary evaluation under this subsection. (3) The Under Secretary shall issue on an an- nual basis not less than one such broad agency announcement inviting interested parties to submit challenge proposals. Such announce- ments may also identify particular technology areas and acquisition programs or functions that will be given priority in the evaluation of challenge proposals. (4)(A) The Under Secretary shall establish pro- cedures for the prompt issuance of a solicitation for challenge proposals addressing— (i) any acquisition program for which, since the last such announcement, the Secretary concerned has determined under section 4374 of this title that the program’s acquisition unit cost or procurement unit cost has in- creased by a percentage equal to or greater than the critical cost growth threshold for the program (in this section referred to as a ‘‘crit- ical cost growth threshold breach’’); (ii) any design, engineering, manufacturing, or technology integration issues, in accord- ance with the assessment required by section 4375(b) of this title, that have contributed sig- nificantly to the cost growth of such program; and (iii) any functional challenges of importance to Department of Defense missions. (B) A solicitation under this paragraph may be included in a broad agency announcement issued pursuant to paragraph (3) as long as the broad agency announcement is released in an expedi- tious manner following the determination of the Secretary concerned that a critical cost growth threshold breach has occurred with respect to a major defense acquisition program.