§492 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

Every even-numbered year, four senior military officials must check how safe, secure, reliable, sustainable, and effective certain nuclear systems are, and whether they can be ready when needed. They must review every type of nuclear-weapon delivery platform and the nuclear command-and-control system. By December 1 of those even-numbered years, each official must send a report to the Secretary of Defense and the Nuclear Weapons Council that gives the assessment results, points out any capability gaps or shortfalls, describes risks to meeting missions or requirements, and explains anything that made the assessment harder. If the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command finds a problem with a delivery platform, that report must also discuss other platform types or fixes that could do the job. By March 1 after those reports, the Secretary of Defense must send all the reports to the President, with any comments, conclusions, and other material the Secretary thinks important. The President must send that package to the congressional defense committees by March 15. The Secretary may mark these reports as classified if needed. The four officials who must do the assessments are the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, the Navy’s Director of the Strategic Systems Program, the Air Force’s Global Strike Command commander, and the Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Title 10, §492

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)For each even-numbered year, each covered official shall assess the safety, security, reliability, sustainability, performance, and military effectiveness of, and the ability to meet operational availability requirements for, the systems described in paragraph (2) for which such official has responsibility.

(2)The systems described in this paragraph are the following:

(A)Each type of delivery platform for nuclear weapons.

(B)The nuclear command and control system.

(b)(1)Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, each covered official shall submit to the Secretary of Defense and the Nuclear Weapons Council established by section 179 of this title a report on the assessments conducted under subsection (a).

(2)Each report under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A)The results of the assessment.

(B)An identification and discussion of any capability gaps or shortfalls with respect to the systems described in subsection (a)(2) covered under the assessment.

(C)An identification and discussion of any risks with respect to meeting mission or capability requirements.

(D)In the case of an assessment by the Commander of the United States Strategic Command, if the Commander identifies any deficiency with respect to a nuclear weapons delivery platform covered under the assessment, a discussion of the relative merits of any other nuclear weapons delivery platform type or compensatory measure that would accomplish the mission of such nuclear weapons delivery platform.

(E)An identification and discussion of any matter having an adverse effect on the capability of the covered official to accurately determine the matters covered by the assessment.

(c)(1)Not later than March 1 of each year following a year for which a report under subsection (b) is submitted, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the President a report containing—

(A)each report under subsection (b) submitted during the previous year, as originally submitted to the Secretary;

(B)any comments that the Secretary considers appropriate with respect to each such report;

(C)any conclusions that the Secretary considers appropriate with respect to the safety, security, reliability, sustainability, performance, or military effectiveness of the systems described in subsection (a)(2); and

(D)any other information that the Secretary considers appropriate.

(2)Not later than March 15 of each year during which a report under paragraph (1) is submitted, the President shall transmit to the congressional defense committees the report submitted to the President under paragraph (1), including any comments the President considers appropriate.

(3)Each report under this subsection may be in classified form if the Secretary of Defense determines it necessary.

(d)In this section, the term “covered official” means—

(1)the Commander of the United States Strategic Command;

(2)the Director of the Strategic Systems Program of the Navy;

(3)the Commander of the Global Strike Command of the Air Force; and

(4)the Commander of the United States Air Forces in Europe.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 116–92 added par. (4). 2014—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 113–291 inserted “, and the ability to meet operational availability requirements for,” after “military effectiveness of”. 2013—Pub. L. 112–239 renumbered section 490a of this title as this section.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Initial Assessment and Reports Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title X, § 1041(b), Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1574, as amended by Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title X, § 1031(b)(4), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1919; Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title X, § 1091(b)(6), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 876, provided that: “Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 31, 2011], each covered official, as such term is defined in subsection (d) of section 492 of title 10, United States Code, shall conduct an initial assessment as described by subsection (a) of such section and submit an initial report as described by subsection (b) of such section. The requirements of subsection (c) of such section shall apply with respect to the report submitted under this subsection.” [Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title X, § 1091(b), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 876, provided in part that the amendment made by section 1091(b)(6) is effective as of Jan. 2, 2013, and as if included in Pub. L. 112–239 as enacted.]

§492 Biennial Assessment and Report on the Delivery Platforms for Nuclear Weapons and the Nuclear Command and Control System