10 U.S.C. § 2448b (ARMED FORCES)
§ 2448b. 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—
(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) 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; amended Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title IX, § 902(73), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1552.)
heading: Transfer of Section
text: Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §§ 1801(d), 1847(e)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4151, 4256, provided that, effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, this section is transferred to chapter 322 of this title, inserted after section 4271 of this title, and redesignated as section 4272 of this title. See Effective Date of 2021 Amendment note below.
heading: Amendments
text: 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.”
heading: Effective Date of 2021 Amendment
text: 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.
heading: Effective Date
text: 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 2448a of this title.