§148 Joint Energetics Transition Office

Summary

Create a Joint Energetics Transition Office inside the Department of Defense. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment must pick the Office head from their staff, and that head will report to that Under Secretary and work with the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering. The Under Secretary for Research and Engineering must pick a deputy from their staff; the deputy will report to the head and to that Under Secretary. The head and deputy must manage the Office full time. The Office must make and update a strategic plan and investment strategy for energetic materials across their whole life cycle and supply chain, tied to the future‑years defense program (under section 221) and the program objective memorandum process. It must run studies to find targets for new materials, spot supply chain gaps and expand the industrial base, and cut waste in explosives manufacturing. The Office must coordinate research, development, testing, prototyping, and rapid integration of new materials; speed model validation and material qualification; recommend changes to laws or rules that slow things down; work with other DoD parts and federal agencies; and set up a DoD Field Activity for systems engineering funded under budget activity 3 or 4 to reduce risk and run demonstrations. The Secretary must fund the Office adequately and include a dedicated budget line starting in the FY2027 budget materials submitted to Congress. Defined term: Energetic materials — chemicals or formulas that release large amounts of stored chemical energy and are used as explosives, propellants, pyrotechnics, or reactive materials that cause lethal effects in warheads or improve propellant performance (lethality, range, or speed).