§231a Budgeting for life-cycle costs of aircraft for the Army, Navy, and Air Force: annual plan and certification

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must send Congress a plan and a certification within 30 days after the President sends the annual budget. The plan shows how the Army, Navy, and Air Force will buy the 11 kinds of aircraft named in the law (including fighters, bombers, tankers, lift aircraft, ISR, remotely piloted, rotary-wing, operational support, and others). The Secretary must also certify that the budget and the future-years defense program fund those buys at levels that will let the services buy the aircraft on the schedule in the plan. Each yearly plan must be built to support the most recent National Defense Strategy and National Military Strategy. It must show a 15-year buying program for each service, describe the needed aviation force structure, and give estimated annual funding for buying and for operating and sustaining each program. For each cost estimate the plan must say whether it comes from the military department or from the Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, explain any difference over 5 percent, state the confidence level, and certify use of the common cost categories set by the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment. The plan must assess how the combined aircraft forces meet national needs, use Selected Acquisition Report data when required, be submitted unclassified with a classified annex, and include a public summary. If the budget does not fund the plan’s force levels, the Secretary must include a coordinated assessment of the funding shortfall and risks. The Secretary must also report the aircraft inventory totals and categories separately for regular and reserve components. “Budget” means the President’s budget submitted to Congress under section 1105 of title 31.