10 U.S.C. § 3455 (ARMED FORCES)
§ 3455. Procurement of a major weapon system as a commercial product: requirement for prior determination by Secretary of Defense and notification to Congress
(a) Requirement for Determination and Notification.—
A major weapon system of the Department of Defense may be treated as a commercial product, or purchased under procedures established for the procurement of commercial products, only if—
(1) the Secretary of Defense determines that—
(A) the major weapon system is a commercial product; and
(B) such treatment is necessary to meet national security objectives; and
(2) the congressional defense committees are notified at least 30 days before such treatment or purchase occurs.
(b) Treatment of Subsystems as Commercial Products.—
A subsystem of a major weapon system (other than a commercially available off-the-shelf item as defined in section 104 of title 41) shall be treated as a commercial product and purchased under procedures established for the procurement of commercial products if either—
(1) the subsystem is intended for a major weapon system that is being purchased, or has been purchased, under procedures established for the procurement of commercial products in accordance with the requirements of subsection (a); or
(2) the contracting officer determines in writing that the subsystem is a commercial product.
(c) Treatment of Components and Spare Parts as Commercial Products.—
(1) A component or spare part for a major weapon system (other than a commercially available off-the-shelf item as defined in section 104 of title 41) may be treated as a commercial product for the purposes of chapter 271 of this title if either—
(A) the component or spare part is intended for—
(i) a major weapon system that is being purchased, or has been purchased, under procedures established for the procurement of commercial products in accordance with the requirements of subsection (a); or
(ii) a subsystem of a major weapon system that is being purchased, or has been purchased, under procedures established for the procurement of commercial products in accordance with the requirements of subsection (b); or
(B) the contracting officer determines in writing that the component or spare part is a commercial product.
(2) This subsection shall apply only to components and spare parts that are acquired by the Department of Defense through a prime contract or a modification to a prime contract (or through a subcontract under a prime contract or modification to a prime contract on which the prime contractor adds no, or negligible, value).
(d) Information Submitted.—
(1) To the extent necessary to determine the reasonableness of the price for items acquired under this section, the contracting officer shall require the offeror to submit—
(A) prices paid for the same or similar commercial products under comparable terms and conditions by both Government and commercial customers;
(B) if the contracting officer determines that the offeror does not have access to and cannot provide sufficient information described in subparagraph (A) to determine the reasonableness of price, information on—
(i) prices for the same or similar items sold under different terms and conditions;
(ii) prices for similar levels of work or effort on related products or services;
(iii) prices for alternative solutions or approaches; and
(iv) other relevant information that can serve as the basis for a price assessment; and
(C) if the contracting officer determines that the information submitted pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) is not sufficient to determine the reasonableness of price, other relevant information regarding the basis for price or cost, including information on labor costs, material costs, and overhead rates.
(2) An offeror may submit information or analysis relating to the value of a commercial product to aid in the determination of the reasonableness of the price of such item. A contracting officer may consider such information or analysis in addition to the information submitted pursuant to paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B).
(3) An offeror may not be required to submit information described in paragraph (1)(C) with regard to a commercially available off-the-shelf item and may be required to submit such information with regard to any other item that was developed exclusively at private expense only after the head of the contracting activity determines in writing that the information submitted pursuant to paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) is not sufficient to determine the reasonableness of price.
(e) Delegation.—
The authority of the Secretary of Defense to make a determination under subsection (a) may be delegated only to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, without further redelegation.
(f) Major Weapon System Defined.—
In this section, the term “major weapon system” means a weapon system acquired pursuant to a major defense acquisition program (as that term is defined in section 2430 1 of this title).
(Added Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VIII, § 803(a)(1), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3370, § 2379; amended Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title VIII, § 815(a)(1), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 222; Pub. L. 113–291, div. A, title X, § 1071(a)(7), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3504; Pub. L. 114–92, div. A, title VIII, § 852(a)–(d), Nov. 25, 2015, 129 Stat. 917, 918; Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VIII, § 872, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2307; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 836(d)(4), (8)(D), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1868, 1869; renumbered § 3455 and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §§ 1821(a)(2), (b)(4), 1883(b)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4195, 4294.)
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.