REVIEW OF ACQUISITION PROCESS FOR RAPID FIELDING OF CAPABILITIES IN RESPONSE TO URGENT OPERATIONAL NEEDS.

SEC. 804. REVIEW OF ACQUISITION PROCESS FOR RAPID FIELDING OF CAPABILITIES IN RESPONSE TO URGENT OPERATIONAL NEEDS.(a) Review of Rapid Acquisition Process Required.—(1) In general.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall complete a review of the process for the fielding of capabilities in response to urgent operational needs and submit a report on the review to the congressional defense committees.124 STAT. 4257(2) Review and report requirements.—The review pursuant to this section shall include consideration of various improvements to the acquisition process for rapid fielding of capabilities in response to urgent operational needs. For each improvement, the report on the review shall discuss—(A) the Department’s review of the improvement;(B) if the improvement is being implemented by the Department, a schedule for implementing the improvement; and(C) if the improvement is not being implemented by the Department, an explanation of why the improvement is not being implemented.(3) Improvements to be considered.—The improvements that shall be considered during the review are the following:(A) Providing a streamlined, expedited, and tightly integrated iterative approach to—(i) the identification and validation of urgent operational needs;(ii) the analysis of alternatives and identification of preferred solutions;(iii) the development and approval of appropriate requirements and acquisition documents;(iv) the identification and minimization of development, integration, and manufacturing risks;(v) the consideration of operation and sustainment costs;(vi) the allocation of appropriate funding; and(vii) the rapid production and delivery of required capabilities.(B) Clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military departments, and other components of the Department of Defense for carrying out all phases of the process.(C) Designating a senior official within the Office of the Secretary of Defense with primary responsibility for making recommendations to the Secretary on the use of the authority provided by subsections (c) and (d) of section 806 of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note), as amended by section 803 of this Act, in appropriate circumstances.(D) Establishing a target date for the fielding of a capability pursuant to each validated urgent operational need.(E) Implementing a system for—(i) documenting key process milestones, such as funding, acquisition, fielding, and assessment decisions and actions; and(ii) tracking the cost, schedule, and performance of acquisitions conducted pursuant to the process.(F) Establishing a formal feedback mechanism for the commanders of the combatant commands to provide information to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and senior acquisition officials on how well fielded solutions are meeting urgent operational needs.124 STAT. 4258(G) Establishing a dedicated source of funding for the rapid fielding of capabilities in response to urgent operational needs.(H) Issuing guidance to provide for the appropriate transition of capabilities acquired through rapid fielding into the traditional budget, requirements, and acquisition process for purposes of contracts for follow-on production, sustainment, and logistics support.(I) Such other improvements as the Secretary considers appropriate.(b) Discriminating Urgent Operational Needs From Traditional Requirements.—(1) Expedited review process.—Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and implement an expedited review process to determine whether capabilities proposed as urgent operational needs are appropriate for fielding through the process for the rapid fielding of capabilities or should be fielded through the traditional acquisition process.(2) Elements.—The review process developed and implemented pursuant to paragraph (1) shall—(A) apply to the rapid fielding of capabilities in response to joint urgent operational need statements and to other urgent operational needs statements generated by the military departments and the combatant commands;(B) identify officials responsible for making determinations described in paragraph (1);(C) establish appropriate time periods for making such determinations;(D) set forth standards and criteria for making such determinations based on considerations of urgency, risk, and life-cycle management;(E) establish appropriate thresholds for the applicability of the review process, or of elements of the review process; and(F) authorize appropriate officials to make exceptions from standards and criteria established under subparagraph (D) in exceptional circumstances.(3) Covered capabilities.—The review process developed and implemented pursuant to paragraph (1) shall provide that, subject to such exceptions as the Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of this section, the acquisition process for rapid fielding of capabilities in response to urgent operational needs is appropriate only for capabilities that—(A) can be fielded within a period of two to 24 months;(B) do not require substantial development effort;(C) are based on technologies that are proven and available; and(D) can appropriately be acquired under fixed price contracts.(4) Inclusion in report.—The Secretary shall include a description of the expedited review process implemented pursuant to paragraph (1) in the report required by subsection (a).124 STAT. 4259