Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§4272 Independent technical risk assessments

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART V— - ACQUISITION › Subpart Subpart F— - Major Systems, Major Defense Acquisition Programs, and Weapon Systems Development › Chapter CHAPTER 322— - MAJOR SYSTEMS AND MAJOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAMS GENERALLY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE SPECIFICALLY TO MAJOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAMS › § 4272

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must run or approve independent technical risk assessments for major defense acquisition programs before Milestone B (section 4252), before low‑rate initial or full‑rate production, or whenever the Secretary thinks it is needed. The assessments must find any critical technologies or manufacturing processes that have not been proven in a relevant environment, and the Secretary must issue guidance and a framework for how to do and approve these assessments.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §4272

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)With respect to a major defense acquisition program, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct or approve independent technical risk assessments before any decision to grant Milestone B approval for the program pursuant to section 4252 of this title, any decision to enter into low-rate initial production or full-rate production, or at any other time considered appropriate by the Secretary, that includes the identification of any critical technologies or manufacturing processes that have not been successfully demonstrated in a relevant environment.
(b)The Secretary shall issue guidance and a framework for the conduct, execution, and approval of independent technical risk assessments.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 118–159 struck out dash after “risk assessments” and par. (2) designation before “before any decision” and struck out par. (1) which read as follows: “before any decision to grant Milestone A approval for the program pursuant to section 4251 of this title, that identifies critical technologies and manufacturing processes that need to be matured; and”. 2021—Pub. L. 116–283, § 1847(e)(2), renumbered section 2448b of this title as this section. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1847(e)(2)(A), substituted “section 4251” for “section 2366a”. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1847(e)(2)(B), substituted “section 4252” for “section 2366b”. 2019—Pub. L. 116–92 added subsecs. (a) and (b) and struck out former subsecs. (a) and (b) which read as follows: “(a) In General.—With respect to a major defense acquisition program, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that an independent technical risk assessment is conducted— “(1) before any decision to grant Milestone A approval for the program pursuant to section 2366a of this title, that identifies critical technologies and manufacturing processes that need to be matured; and “(2) before any decision to grant Milestone B approval for the program pursuant to section 2366b of this title, any decision to enter into low-rate initial production or full-rate production, or at any other time considered appropriate by the Secretary, that includes the identification of any critical technologies or manufacturing processes that have not been successfully demonstrated in a relevant environment. “(b) Categorization of Technical Risk Levels.—The Secretary shall issue guidance and a framework for categorizing the degree of technical and manufacturing risk in a major defense acquisition program.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2021 AmendmentAmendment 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 a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Effective Date

Section applicable with respect to major defense acquisition programs that reach Milestone A after Oct. 1, 2017, see section 807(a)(2) of Pub. L. 114–328, set out as a note under section 4271 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 4272

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73