§5512 Ballistic Missile Defense Programs: Display of Amounts for Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation

Summary

Any dollar amounts sent to Congress for research, development, test, and evaluation to add a ballistic missile defense piece to the overall missile defense must be shown in the Department of Defense’s Defense-wide RDT&E account and, inside that account, under the Missile Defense Agency subaccount. The Secretary of Defense must make rules for moving a missile defense program from the Missile Defense Agency to a military department. Those rules must at least cover the program’s technical readiness, whether production facilities exist, and whether the military department is committed to buy the system as shown in the future-years defense program and other plans. The Secretary must send those rules and any changes to the congressional defense committees. Before any transfer, the Secretary must give the committees a written notice and certify the program meets the rules. The transfer can happen after 60 days from that notice. When a transfer occurs, the Secretary must update budget and planning documents and clearly assign who will handle follow-on research, development, test, and evaluation.