§4272. Independent technical risk assessments
(a) In General.—With respect to a major defense acquisition program, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct or approve independent technical risk assessments before any decision to grant Milestone B approval for the program pursuant to section 4252 of this title, any decision to enter into low-rate initial production or full-rate production, or at any other time considered appropriate by the Secretary, that includes the identification of any critical technologies or manufacturing processes that have not been successfully demonstrated in a relevant environment.
(b) Guidance.—The Secretary shall issue guidance and a framework for the conduct, execution, and approval of independent technical risk assessments.
(Added Pub. L. 114-328, div. A, title VIII, § 807(a)(1) , Dec. 23, 2016 , 130 Stat. 2261 , § 2448b; amended Pub. L. 116-92, div. A, title IX, § 902(73) , Dec. 20, 2019 , 133 Stat. 1552 ; renumbered § 4272 and amended Pub. L. 116-283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1847(e)(2) , Jan. 1, 2021 , 134 Stat. 4256 ; Pub. L. 118-159, div. A, title VIII, § 806(b)(1) , Dec. 23, 2024 , 138 Stat. 1974 .)
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2024—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 118-159 struck out dash after “risk assessments” and par. (2) designation before “before any decision” and struck out par. (1) which read as follows: “before any decision to grant Milestone A approval for the program pursuant to section 4251 of this title, that identifies critical technologies and manufacturing processes that need to be matured; and”.
2021—Pub. L. 116-283, § 1847(e)(2), renumbered section 2448b of this title as this section.
Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116-283, § 1847(e)(2)(A), substituted “section 4251” for “section 2366a”.
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 116-283, § 1847(e)(2)(B), substituted “section 4252” for “section 2366b”.
2019—Pub. L. 116-92 added subsecs. (a) and (b) and struck out former subsecs. (a) and (b) which read as follows:
“(a) In General.—With respect to a major defense acquisition program, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that an independent technical risk assessment is conducted—
“(1) before any decision to grant Milestone A approval for the program pursuant to section 2366a of this title, that identifies critical technologies and manufacturing processes that need to be matured; and
“(2) before any decision to grant Milestone B approval for the program pursuant to section 2366b of this title, any decision to enter into low-rate initial production or full-rate production, or at any other time considered appropriate by the Secretary, that includes the identification of any critical technologies or manufacturing processes that have not been successfully demonstrated in a relevant environment.
“(b) Categorization of Technical Risk Levels.—The Secretary shall issue guidance and a framework for categorizing the degree of technical and manufacturing risk in a major defense acquisition program.”
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2021 Amendment
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.
Effective Date
Section applicable with respect to major defense acquisition programs that reach Milestone A after Oct. 1, 2017, see section 807(a)(2) of Pub. L. 114-328, set out as a note under section 4271 of this title.