10 U.S.C. § 4325 | Major weapon systems: assessment, management, and control of operating and support costs

(a)

Guidance Required .—

The Secretary of Defense shall issue and maintain guidance on actions to be taken to assess, manage, and control Department of Defense costs for the operation and support of major weapon systems.

(b)

Elements .—

The guidance required by subsection (a) shall, at a minimum—

(1)

section 118 of this title section 4324 of this title be issued in accordance with the requirements of and in conjunction with the comprehensive guidance on life-cycle management and the development and implementation of product support strategies for major weapon systems required by ;

(2)

require the military departments to retain each estimate of operating and support costs that is developed at any time during the life cycle of a major weapon system, together with supporting documentation used to develop the estimate;

(3)

section 4324 of this title section 118(c) of this title require each Secretary of a military department to update estimates of operating and support costs periodically throughout the life cycle of a major weapon system, and make necessary adjustments to the life-cycle sustainment plan required by to ensure such major weapon system meets applicable operational readiness requirements and materiel readiness objectives (established in accordance with ) in the most cost-effective manner practicable;

(4)

section 2222 of this title establish policies and procedures for the collection, organization, maintenance, and availability of standardized data on operating and support costs for major weapon systems in accordance with ;

(5)

establish standard requirements for the collection and reporting of data on operating and support costs for major weapon systems by contractors performing weapon system sustainment functions in an appropriate format, and develop contract clauses to ensure that contractors comply with such requirements;

(6)

require the military departments—

(A)

to collect and retain data from operational and developmental testing and evaluation on the reliability and maintainability of major weapon systems; and

(B)

to use such data to inform system design decisions, provide insight into sustainment costs, and inform estimates of operating and support costs for such systems;

(7)

require the military departments to ensure that sustainment factors are fully considered at key life-cycle management decision points and that appropriate measures are taken to reduce operating and support costs by influencing system design early in development, developing sound sustainment strategies, and addressing key drivers of costs;

(8)

require the military departments to conduct an independent logistics assessment of each major weapon system prior to key acquisition decision points (including milestone decisions) to identify features that are likely to drive future operating and support costs, changes to system design that could reduce such costs, and effective strategies for managing such costs;

(9)

section 4324(b)(1)(D) of this title prior to the Milestone B approval (or equivalent approval) for a major weapon system, require the Secretary concerned to ensure the completion of an intellectual property management plan for product support required under ; and

(10)

require each Secretary of a military department to create and retain an independent cost estimate for the remainder of the life cycle of the covered weapon system every five years.

(c)

Major Weapon System Defined .—

section 101(a) of this titleIn this section, the term “major weapon system” has the meaning given that term in .

Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VIII, § 836(a)(1)Dec. 12, 2017131 Stat. 1472 Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title X, § 1081(a)(20)Aug. 13, 2018132 Stat. 1984 Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1848(d)(1)Jan. 1, 2021134 Stat. 4258 Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title VIII, § 811(c)(2)(C)Dec. 18, 2025139 Stat. 950(Added , , , § 2337a; amended , , ; renumbered § 4325 and amended , (3), , ; , title XVIII, § 1803(e), , , 1233.)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 119–60, § 1803(e)(1)(A)section 118 of this title2025—Subsec. (b)(1). , inserted “in accordance with the requirements of and” after “be issued”.

Pub. L. 119–60, § 1803(e)(1)(B)Subsec. (b)(3). , amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (3) read as follows: “require the military departments to update estimates of operating and support costs periodically throughout the life cycle of a major weapon system, to determine whether preliminary information and assumptions remain relevant and accurate, and identify and record reasons for variances;”.

Pub. L. 119–60, § 1803(e)(1)(C)Subsec. (b)(9). , amended par. (9) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (9) read as follows: “include—

“(A) reliability metrics for major weapon systems; and

“(B) requirements on the use of metrics under subparagraph (A) as triggers—

“(i) to conduct further investigation and analysis into drivers of those metrics; and

“(ii) to develop strategies for improving reliability, availability, and maintainability of such systems at an affordable cost; and”.

Pub. L. 119–60, § 1803(e)(1)(D)Subsec. (b)(10). , amended par. (10) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (10) read as follows: “require the military departments to conduct periodic reviews of operating and support costs of major weapon systems after such systems achieve initial operational capability to identify and address factors resulting in growth in operating and support costs and adapt support strategies to reduce such costs.”

Pub. L. 119–60, § 1803(e)(2)Subsec. (c). , (3), redesignated subsec. (d) as (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which related to retention of data on operating and support costs.

Pub. L. 119–60, § 1803(e)(3)Subsec. (d). , redesignated subsec. (d) as (c).

Pub. L. 119–60, § 811(c)(2)(C), substituted “section 101(a)” for “section 3455(f)”.

Pub. L. 116–283, § 1848(d)(3)(B)2021—, amended section catchline generally. Prior to amendment, section catchline read as follows: “Assessment, management, and control of operating and support costs for major weapon systems”.

Pub. L. 116–283, § 1848(d)(1)section 2337a of this title, renumbered as this section.

Pub. L. 116–283, § 1848(d)(3)(A)(i)Subsec. (b)(1). , substituted “section 4324” for “section 2337”.

Pub. L. 116–283, § 1848(d)(3)(A)(ii)Subsec. (d). , substituted “section 3455(f)” for “section 2379(f)”.

Pub. L. 115–2322018—Subsec. (d). substituted “this title” for “title 10, United States Code”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2021 Amendment

Pub. L. 116–283Jan. 1, 2022section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283 section 3001 of this titleAmendment by effective , with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see , set out as a note preceding .

Retention of Data on Operating and Support Costs

Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVIII, § 1803(f)Dec. 18, 2025139 Stat. 1233

“(1)

In general .—

section 101 of title 10The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation shall develop and maintain a database on operating and support estimates, supporting documentation, and actual operating and support costs for major weapon systems (as defined in , United States Code, as added by section 811 of this Act).

“(2)

Support .—

The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the Director, in carrying out the requirements of paragraph (1)—

“(A)

section 4201 of title 10 promptly receives the results of all cost estimates and cost analyses conducted by each Secretary of a military department with regard to operating and support costs of major weapon systems acquired pursuant to a major defense acquisition program (as defined in , United States Code); and

“(B)

has timely access to any records and data of military departments (including classified and proprietary information) that the Director considers necessary to carry out such requirements.

“(3)

Coordination .—

The Secretary of Defense may direct each Secretary of a military department, with concurrence of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, to collect and retain information necessary to support the database required in (1).”

, , , provided that:

Pilot Program on Time-Certain Development in Acquisition of Major Weapon Systems

Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title VIII, § 812Oct. 17, 2006120 Stat. 2317 Pub. L. 110–417Oct. 14, 2008122 Stat. 4527 Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title X, § 1073(c)(5)Oct. 28, 2009123 Stat. 2474 Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1806(e)(2)(D)Jan. 1, 2021134 Stat. 4155 Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title VIII, § 811(b)(16)(A)Dec. 18, 2025139 Stat. 949, , , as amended by , [div. A], title VIII, § 813(d)(3), , ; , , ; , , , which authorized a pilot program on the use of time-certain development in the acquisition of major weapon systems in order to deliver new capabilities to warfighters more rapidly, was repealed by , , .