(a) In General.—The Secretary of each military department shall conduct a sustainment review of each covered system not later than five years after declaration of initial operational capability of a major defense acquisition program, and every five years thereafter throughout the life cycle of the covered system, to assess the product support strategy, performance, and operation and support costs of the covered system. The results of the sustainment review shall be documented in a memorandum by the relevant decision authority. The Secretary concerned shall make the memorandum and supporting documentation for each sustainment review available to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment within 30 days after the review is completed.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(b) Elements.—At a minimum, the review required under subsection (a) shall assess execution of the life cycle sustainment plan of the covered system and include the following elements:

(1) An independent cost estimate for the remainder of the life cycle of the program.

(2) A comparison of actual costs to the amount of funds budgeted and appropriated in the previous five years, and if funding shortfalls exist, an explanation of the implications on equipment availability.

(3) A comparison between the assumed and achieved system reliabilities.

(4) An analysis of the most cost-effective source of repairs and maintenance.

(5) An evaluation of the cost of consumables and depot-level repairables.

(6) An evaluation of the costs of information technology, networks, computer hardware, and software maintenance and upgrades.

(7) As applicable, an assessment of the actual fuel efficiencies compared to the projected fuel efficiencies as demonstrated in tests or operations.

(8) As applicable, a comparison of actual manpower requirements to previous estimates.

(9) An analysis of whether accurate and complete data are being reported in the cost systems of the military department concerned, and if deficiencies exist, a plan to update the data and ensure accurate and complete data are submitted in the future.

(10) As applicable, information regarding any decision to restructure the life cycle sustainment plan for a covered system or any other action that will lead to critical operating and support cost growth.

(c) Coordination.—The review required under subsection (a) shall be conducted in coordination with the requirements of sections 4324 and 4325 of this title.

(d) Submission to Congress.—(1) Not later than September 30 of each fiscal year, the Secretary of each military department shall annually submit to the congressional defense committees the sustainment reviews required by this section for such fiscal year.

(2) Each submission under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

(3) For a covered system with critical operating and support cost growth, such submission shall include a remediation plan to reduce operating and support costs or a certification by the Secretary concerned that such critical operating and support cost growth is necessary to meet national security requirements.

(e) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) Covered system.—The term “covered system” shall have the meaning given in section 4324 of this title.

(2) Critical operating and support cost growth.—The term “critical operating and support cost growth” means operating and support cost growth—

(A) of at least 25 percent more than the estimate documented in the most recent independent cost estimate for the covered system; or

(B) of at least 50 percent more than the estimate documented in the original Baseline Estimate (as defined in section 4214(d) of this title) for the covered system.