NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINES.

SEC. 131. NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINES. (a) Amounts Authorized.— 110 STAT. 207 (1) Of the amount authorized by section 102 to be appropriated for Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy, for fiscal year 1996— (A) $700,000,000 is available for construction of the third vessel (designated SSN–23) in the Seawolf attack submarine class, which shall be the final vessel in that class; and (B) $804,498,000 is available for long-lead and advance construction and procurement of components for construction of the fiscal year 1998 and fiscal year 1999 submarines (previously designated by the Navy as the New Attack Submarine), of which— (i) $704,498,000 shall be available for long-lead and advance construction and procurement for the fiscal year 1998 submarine, which shall be built by Electric Boat Division; and (ii) $100,000,000 shall be available for long-lead and advance construction and procurement for the fiscal year 1999 submarine, which shall be built by Newport News Shipbuilding. (2) Of the amount authorized by section 201(2), $10,000,000 shall be available only for participation of Newport News Shipbuilding in the design of the submarine previously designated by the Navy as the New Attack Submarine. (b) Competition, Report, and Budget Revision Limitations.— (1) Of the amounts specified in subsection (a)(1), not more than $200,000,000 may be obligated or expended until the Secretary of the Navy certifies in writing to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives that procurement of nuclear attack submarines to be constructed beginning— (A) after fiscal year 1999, or (B) if four submarines are procured as provided for in the plan described in subsection (c), after fiscal year 2001, will be under one or more contracts that are entered into after competition between potential competitors (as defined in subsection (k)) in which the Secretary solicits competitive proposals and awards the contract or contracts on the basis of price. (2) Of the amounts specified in subsection (a)(1), not more than $1,000,000,000 may be obligated or expended until the Secretary of Defense, not later than March 15, 1996, accomplishes each of the following: (A) Submits to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives in accordance with subsection (c) the plan required by that subsection for a program to produce a more capable, less expensive nuclear attack submarine than the submarine design previously designated by the Navy as the New Attack Submarine. (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, or the funding level in the President’s budget for each year after fiscal year 1996, the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) shall incorporate the costs of the plan required by subsection (c) in the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) even if the total cost of that Program exceeds the President’s budget. (C) Directs that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology conduct oversight over the development and improvement of the nuclear attack submarine program of the Navy. Officials of the Department of the Navy exercising management oversight of the program shall report to the Under 110 STAT. 208Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology with respect to that program. (c) Plan for Fiscal Year 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 Submarines.— (1) The Secretary of Defense shall, not later than March 15, 1996, develop (and submit to the committees specified in subsection (b)(2)(A)) a detailed plan for development of a program that will lead to production of a more capable, less expensive submarine than the submarine previously designated as the New Attack Submarine. (2) As part of such plan, the Secretary shall provide for a program for the design, development, and procurement of four nuclear attack submarines to be procured during fiscal years 1998 through 2001, the purpose of which shall be to develop and demonstrate new technologies that will result in each successive submarine of those four being a more capable and more affordable submarine than the submarine that preceded it. The program shall be structured so that— (A) one of the four submarines is to be constructed with funds appropriated for each fiscal year from fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year 2001; (B) in order to ensure flexibility for innovation, the fiscal year 1998 and the fiscal year 2000 submarines are to be constructed by the Electric Boat Division and the fiscal year 1999 and the fiscal year 2001 submarines are to be constructed by Newport News Shipbuilding; (C) the design designated by the Navy for the submarine previously designated as the New Attack Submarine will be used as the base design by both contractors; (D) each contractor shall be called upon to propose improvements, including design improvements, for each successive submarine as new and better technology is demonstrated and matures so that— (i) each successive submarine is more capable and more affordable; and (ii) the design for a future class of nuclear attack submarines will incorporate the latest, best, and most affordable technology; and (E) the fifth and subsequent nuclear attack submarines to be built after the SSN–23 submarine shall be procured as required by subsection (b)(1). (3) The plan under paragraph (1) shall— (A) set forth a program to accomplish the design, development, and construction of the four submarines taking maximum advantage of a streamlined acquisition process, as provided under subsection (d); (B) culminate in selection of a design for a next submarine for serial production not earlier than fiscal year 2003, with such submarine to be procured as required by subsection (b)(1); (C) identify advanced technologies that are in various phases of research and development, as well as those that are commercially available off-the-shelf, that are candidates to be incorporated into the plan to design, develop, and procure the submarines; (D) designate the fifth submarine to be procured as the lead ship in the next generation submarine class, unless the Secretary of the Navy, in consultation with the special submarine review panel described in subsection (f), determines 110 STAT. 209that more submarines should be built before the design of the new class of submarines is fixed, in which case each such additional submarine shall be procured in the same manner as is required by subsection (b)(1); and (E) identify the impact of the submarine program described in paragraph (1) on the remainder of the appropriation account known as “Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy”, as such impact relates to— (i) force structure levels required by the October 1993 Department of Defense report entitled “Report on the Bottom-Up Review”; (ii) force structure levels required by the 1995 report on the Surface Ship Combatant Study that was carried out for the Department of Defense; and (iii) the funding requirements for submarine construction, as a percentage of the total ship construction account, for each fiscal year throughout the FYDP. (4) As part of such plan, the Secretary shall provide— (A) cost estimates and schedules for developing new technologies that may be used to make submarines more capable and more affordable; and (B) an analysis of significant risks associated with fielding the new technologies on the schedule proposed by the Secretary and significant increased risks that are likely to be incurred by accelerating that schedule. (d) Streamlined Acquisition Process.— The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe and use streamlined acquisition policies and procedures to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of the submarine program under this section. (e) Annual Revisions to Plan.— The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives an annual update to the plan required to be submitted under subsection (b). Each such update shall be submitted concurrent with the President’s budget submission to Congress for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002. (f) Special Submarine Review Panel.— (1) The plan under subsection (c) and each annual update under subsection (e) shall be reviewed by a special bipartisan congressional panel working with the Navy. The panel shall consist of three members of the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, who shall be designated by the chairman of that committee, and three members of the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives, who shall be designated by the chairman of that committee. The members of the panel shall be briefed by the Secretary of the Navy on the status of the submarine modernization program and the status of submarine-related research and development under this section. (2) Not later than May 1 of each year, the panel shall report Reports, to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives on the panel’s findings and recommendations regarding the progress of the Secretary in procuring a more capable, less expensive submarine. The panel may recommend any funding adjustments it believes appropriate to achieve this objective. (g) Linkage of Fiscal Year 1998 and 1999 Submarines.— Funds referred to in subsection (a)(1)(B) that are available for 110 STAT. 210 the fiscal year 1998 and fiscal year 1999 submarines under this section may not be expended during fiscal year 1996 for the fiscal year 1998 submarine (other than for design) unless funds are obligated or expended during such fiscal year for a contract in support of procurement of the fiscal year 1999 submarine. (h) Contracts Authorized.— The Secretary of the Navy is authorized, using funds available pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) of subsection (a), to enter into contracts with Electric Boat Division and Newport News Shipbuilding, and suppliers of components, during fiscal year 1996 for— (1) the procurement of long-lead components for the fiscal year 1998 submarine and the fiscal year 1999 submarine under this section; and (2) advance construction of such components and other components for such submarines. (i) Advanced Research Projects Agency Development of Advanced Technologies.— (1) Of the amount provided in section 201(4) for the Advanced Research Projects Agency, $100,000,000 is available only for development and demonstration of advanced technologies for incorporation into the submarines constructed as part of the plan developed under subsection (c). Such advanced technologies shall include the following: (A) Electric drive. (B) Hydrodynamic quieting. (C) Ship control automation. (D) Solid-state power electronics. (E) Wake reduction technologies. (F) Superconductor technologies. (G) Torpedo defense technologies. (H) Advanced control concept. (I) Fuel cell technologies. (J) Propulsors. (2) The Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency shall implement a rapid prototype acquisition strategy for both land-based and at-sea subsystem and system demonstrations of advanced technologies under paragraph (1). Such acquisition strategy shall be developed and implemented in concert with Electric Boat Division and Newport News Shipbuilding and the Navy. (j) References to Contractors.— For purposes of this section— (1) the contractor referred to as “Electric Boat Division” is the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation; and (2) the contractor referred to as “Newport News Shipbuilding” is the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, (k) Potential Competitor Defined.—