10 U.S.C. § 3458 (ARMED FORCES)
§ 3458. Authority to acquire innovative commercial products and commercial services using general solicitation competitive procedures
(a) Authority.—
The Secretary of Defense and each Secretary of a military department may acquire commercial products, commercial services, or nondevelopmental items through a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a general solicitation and a peer review, technical review, or operational review (as appropriate) of such proposals.
(b) Treatment as Competitive Procedures.—
Use of general solicitation competitive procedures under subsection (a) shall be considered to be use of competitive procedures for purposes of chapter 221 of this title.
(c) Follow-on Production Agreements.—
With respect to a product, service, or item acquired through the competitive procedures described under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense or each Secretary of a military department may enter into—
(1) a follow-on production contract (including a sole source contract), subject to the approval requirements of section 3204(e) of this title; or
(2) a follow-on production contract or transaction, as defined in section 4022 of this title.
(d) Limitations.—
(1) Contracts or agreements entered into using the authority under subsection (a) shall be fixed-price, including fixed-price incentive contracts.
(2) Notwithstanding section 3451(1) of this title, products and services acquired using the authority under subsection (a) shall be treated as commercial products and commercial services.
(e) Congressional Notification Required.—
(1) Not later than 45 days after the award of a contract for an amount exceeding $100,000,000 using the authority in subsection (a), the Secretary shall notify the congressional defense committees of such award.
(2) Notice of an award under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) Description of the commercial product, commercial service, or nondevelopmental item acquired.
(B) Description of the requirement, capability gap, or potential technological advancement with respect to which the commercial product, commercial service, or nondevelopmental item acquired provides a solution or a potential new capability.
(C) Amount of the contract awarded.
(D) Identification of the contractor awarded the contract.
(Added § 2380c, renumbered § 3458, and amended Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title VIII, § 803(a)(1), (b)(1), (3), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1814–1816; Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title VIII, § 814(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2707; Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVIII, § 1823, Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1247.)
heading: Editorial Notes
heading: Amendments
text: 2025—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1823(1), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the military departments may acquire innovative commercial products and commercial services through a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a general solicitation and the peer review of such proposals.”
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1823(4), added subsec. (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1823(5), redesignated pars. (2) and (3) as (1) and (2), respectively, and struck out former par. (1) which read as follows: “The Secretary may not enter into a contract or agreement in excess of $100,000,000 using the authority under subsection (a) without a written determination from the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment or the relevant service acquisition executive of the efficacy of the effort to meet mission needs of the Department of Defense or the relevant military department.”
Pub. L. 119–60, § 1823(3), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (e).
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1823(2), (3), redesignated subsec. (d) as (e) and struck out former subsec. (e). Text of former subsec. (e) read as follows: “In this section, the term ‘innovative’ means—
“(1) any technology, process, or method, including research and development, that is new as of the date of submission of a proposal; or
“(2) any application that is new as of the date of submission of a proposal of a technology, process, or method existing as of such date.”
Subsec. (e)(2)(A), (B). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1823(6), substituted “commercial product, commercial service, or nondevelopmental item” for “innovative commercial product or commercial service”.
2022—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 117–263 substituted “fixed-price incentive contracts” for “fixed-price incentive fee contracts”.
2021—Pub. L. 117–81, § 803(b)(1), renumbered section 2380c of this title as this section.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–81, § 803(b)(3)(A), substituted “chapter 221” for “chapter 137”.
Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 117–81, § 803(b)(3)(B), substituted “section 3451(1)” for “section 2376(1)”.
heading: Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
heading: Effective Date of 2021 Amendment
text: Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title VIII, § 803(b)(4), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1816, provided that: “The transfer, redesignation, and amendments made by this subsection [amending this section and repealing provisions set out as a note under section 2302 of this title] shall take [sic] as if included in title XVIII of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283).”
heading: Focused Commercial Solutions Openings Opportunities
text: Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title VIII, § 813, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 325, as amended by Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVIII, § 1802(b)(1)(A), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1227, provided that:
“(a) Requirement.—
During each fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 22, 2023], the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the service acquisition executives of each military department, shall exercise the authority under section 3458 of title 10, United States Code, not less than four times to acquire goods or services addressing the mission needs of a geographic combatant command.
“(b) Execution.—
With respect to acquisition carried out under section 3458 of title 10, United States Code, pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall—
“(1) assign the responsibility for carrying out such acquisition to a portfolio acquisition executive and a head of a science and technology reinvention laboratory from the same military department, who shall co-lead such acquisition; and
“(2) ensure that the portfolio acquisition executive and the head of a science and technology reinvention laboratory assigned as co-leads under paragraph (1) have similar existing requirements and funding for transitioning technologies to acquisition programs within the area of focus for such acquisition.
“(c) Sunset.—
Subsection (a) shall expire on September 30, 2027.
“(d) Definitions.—
In this section:
“(1) The terms ‘military department’ and ‘services acquisition executive’ have the meanings given such terms in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.
“(2) The term ‘portfolio acquisition executive’ has the meaning given such term in section 1737(a) of title 10, United States Code.
“(3) The term ‘science and technology reinvention laboratory’ means a science and technology reinvention laboratory designated under section 4121(b) of title 10, United States Code.”
heading: Data Collection
text: Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title VIII, § 803(a)(3), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1815, provided that:
“(A) In general.—
The Secretary of Defense and each Secretary of a military department shall collect and analyze data on the use of the authority under section 2380c of title 10, United States Code [now 10 U.S.C. 3458], as added by paragraph (1), for the purposes of—
“(i) developing and sharing best practices for achieving the objectives of the authority;
“(ii) gathering information on the implementation of the authority and related policy issues; and
“(iii) informing the congressional defense committees on the use of the authority.
“(B) Plan required.—
The authority under section 2380c [now 3458] of title 10, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), may not be exercised by the Secretary of Defense or any Secretary of a military department during the period beginning on October 1, 2022, and ending on the date on which the Secretary of Defense submits to the congressional defense committees a completed plan for carrying out the data collection required under paragraph (1).
“(C) Congressional defense committees; military department defined.—
In this paragraph, the terms ‘congressional defense committees’ and ‘military department’ have the meanings given such terms in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.”
heading: References; Savings Provision; Rule of Construction
text: Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title VIII, § 803(b)(5), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1816, provided that: “Sections 1883 through 1885 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283) [set out as notes preceding section 3001 of this title] shall apply with respect to the transfers, redesignations, and amendments made under this subsection [amending this section and repealing provisions set out as a note under section 2302 of this title] as if such transfers, redesignations, and amendments were made under title XVIII of such Act.”