REVIEW OF C4I BY NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.

SEC. 262. REVIEW OF C4I BY NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL. (a) Review by National Research Council.— Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall request the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive review of current and planned service and defense-wide programs for command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) with a special focus on cross-service and interservice issues. (b) Matters To Be Assessed in Review.— The review shall address the following: (1) The match between the capabilities provided by current service and defense-wide C4I programs and the actual needs of users of these programs. (2) The interoperability of service and defense-wide C4I systems that are planned to be operational in the future. (3) The need for an overall defense-wide architecture for C4I. (4) Proposed strategies for ensuring that future C4I acquisitions are compatible and interoperable with an overall architecture. (5) Technological and administrative aspects of the C4I modernization effort to determine the soundness of the underlying plan and the extent to which it is consistent with concepts for joint military operations in the future. (c) Two-Year Period for Conducting Review.— The review shall be conducted over the two-year period beginning on the date on which the National Research Council and the Secretary of Defense enter into a contract or other agreement for the conduct of the review. (d) Reports.— (1) In the contract or other agreement for the conduct of the review, the Secretary of Defense shall provide that the National Research Council shall submit to the Department of Defense and Congress interim reports and progress updates on a regular basis as the review proceeds. A final report on the review shall set forth the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Council for defense-wide and service C4I programs and shall be submitted to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives, and the Secretary of Defense. (2) To the maximum degree possible, the final report shall be submitted in unclassified form with classified annexes as necessary. 110 STAT. 237 (e) Interagency Cooperation With Study.— All military departments, defense agencies, and other components of the Department of Defense shall cooperate fully with the National Research Council in its activities in carrying out the review under this section. (f) Expedited Processing of Security Clearances for Study.— For the purpose of facilitating the commencement of the study under this section, the Secretary of Defense shall expedite to the fullest degree possible the processing of security clearances that are necessary for the National Research Council to conduct the study. (g) Funding.— Of the amount authorized to be appropriated in section 201 for defense-wide activities, $900,000 shall be available for the study under this section.