Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— General Military Law › Part V— ACQUISITION › Subpart E— Research and Engineering › Chapter 301— RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING GENERALLY › Subchapter I— GENERAL › § 4004
Allows defense contracts won through an open, public competition to include a special line item or option to develop and test, or to produce and deliver, initial or extra prototype items that come from work done under the contract. If the option is used to deliver items, it must be for the smallest number needed so a later follow-on competition for development or production can happen. Those options can last no more than 2 years and the work under them cannot cost more than $100,000,000 in fiscal year 2017 dollars. Only the Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force may use this authority. The Secretary of Defense must set up procedures to collect and study information about how this authority is used and what benefits it brings, including effects on performance, cost, and how fast new capabilities are delivered.
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Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 4004
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60