Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73
§4125 Functions of Defense research facilities
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART V— - ACQUISITION › Subpart Subpart E— - Research and Engineering › Chapter CHAPTER 303— - RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTERS AND FACILITIES › § 4125
Summary
The Secretary of Defense must, as much as possible, make sure Defense research facilities have wide mission goals instead of being told to build specific hardware. Staff at those facilities should serve as consultants on standards. Facility managers must be free to pick research projects based on what is happening across government, universities, and the global market. Papers about technology from these labs must be shared with all parts of the Department of Defense and with contractors who bid on work. Technology assessments must go to the Defense Technical Information Center to help early buying decisions. Because they are publicly funded, these labs may also help national technology goals and other federal agencies when the Secretary agrees it is in the government's best interest. A "Defense research facility" is a Department of Defense site that does basic research or applied research called exploratory development.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §4125
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Secretary of Defense shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable—
(1)that Defense research facilities are assigned broad mission requirements rather than specific hardware needs;
(2)that appropriate personnel of such facilities are assigned to serve as consultants on component and support system standardization;
(3)that the managers of such facilities have broad latitude to choose research and development projects based on awareness of activities throughout the technology domain, including within the Federal Government, the Department of Defense, public and private research institutions and universities, and the global commercial marketplace;
(4)that technology position and issue papers prepared by Defense research facilities are readily available to all components of the Department of Defense and to contractors who submit bids or proposals for Department of Defense contracts;
(5)that, in order to promote increased consideration of technological issues early in the development process, any technological assessment made by a Defense research facility shall be provided to the Defense Technical Information Center repository to support acquisition decisions; and
(6)that, in light of Defense research facilities being funded by the public, Defense research facilities are broadly authorized and encouraged to support national technological development goals and support technological missions of other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, when such support is determined by the Secretary of Defense to be in the best interests of the Federal Government.
(b)In this section, the term “Defense research facility” means a Department of Defense facility which performs or contracts for the performance of—
(1)basic research; or
(2)applied research known as exploratory development.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Codification The text of subsecs. (b) and (c) of section 2364 of this title, which were transferred to this section and redesignated as subsecs. (a) and (b), respectively, by Pub. L. 116–283, § 1843(b)(2), was based on Pub. L. 99–661, div. A, title II, § 234(c)(1), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3848; Pub. L. 100–26, §§ 3(1)(A), 7(a)(9), Apr. 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 273, 278; Pub. L. 100–180, div. A, title XII, § 1231(10)(A), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1160; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title VIII, § 805, Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 390; Pub. L. 113–291, div. A, title II, § 213, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3325; Pub. L. 114–92, div. A, title II, § 214(a)(2), Nov. 25, 2015, 129 Stat. 768; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1844(d), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4246; Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XVII, § 1701(u)(5)(B), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2154.
Amendments
2021—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1843(b)(2), as added by Pub. L. 117–81, § 1701(u)(4)(A), transferred subsecs. (b) and (c) of section 2364 of this title to this section and redesignated them as subsecs. (a) and (b), respectively.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2021 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 117–81 applicable as if included in the enactment of title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283 as enacted, see section 1701(a)(2) of Pub. L. 117–81, set out in a note preceding section 3001 of this title and
Effective Date
note below.
Effective Date
Section and amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as an
Effective Date
of 2021 Amendment note preceding section 3001 of this title. Specification of Certain Duties of the Defense Technical Information Center Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title IX, § 905, Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1922, as amended by Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1842(c)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4244, provided that: “(a) In General.—In addition to any other duties specified for the Defense Technical Information Center by law, regulation, or Department of Defense directive or instruction, the duties of the Center shall include the following:“(1) To execute the Global Research Watch Program under section 4066 of title 10, United States Code. “(2) To develop and maintain datasets and other data repositories on research and engineering activities being conducted within the Department. “(b) Action Plan.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 13, 2018], the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a plan of action for the commencement by the Defense Technical Information Center of the duties specified in subsection (a).” Coordination of High-Temperature Superconductivity Research and Development Pub. L. 100–180, div. A, title II, § 218(b)(2), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1053, as amended by Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5115(c), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1433; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title IX, § 904(f), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1729; Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title IX, § 911(a)(1), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 717, provided that: “The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, shall— “(A) coordinate the research and development activities of the Department of Defense relating to high-temperature superconductivity; and “(B) ensure that such research and development—“(i) is carried out in coordination with the high-temperature superconductivity research and development activities of the Department of Energy (including the national laboratories of the Department of Energy), the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and “(ii) complements rather than duplicates such activities.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 4125
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73