Title 10 › Subtitle C — Navy and Marine Corps › PART IV — GENERAL ADMINISTRATION › CHAPTER 863 — NAVAL VESSELS › § 8697
Within 45 days after the first ship of a new battle force class is delivered, the Secretary of the Navy must send a report to the congressional defense committees about how that class will be used, maintained, and staffed. The report must cover the long‑term maintenance and sustainment plan (who will do what work and how long depot and drydock periods will take), required logistics items and technical manuals and which were or were not delivered and when missing items will arrive, the planned maintenance system and any parts not finished at delivery and how they will be completed, the onboard allowance list and missing items with expected arrival dates, the ship manpower document and the number of officers and enlisted by grade/designator and rate/rating, the authorized billets and programmed funding and end strength for the delivery year and each of the four fiscal years after delivery, the people actually assigned at delivery, available government and contractor training for each critical system and plans to change that training after delivery, and a month‑by‑month employment schedule for the delivery year and each of the four fiscal years after delivery showing time in basic, integrated/advanced, deployment, maintenance, and sustainment phases. At least 30 days before making any significant change to those baseline plans, the Secretary must give written notice to the congressional defense committees that explains the change, the desired outcome, the reason, how long it will last, the operational effects, and the budgetary, personnel, and sustainment effects for the year of the change, over the next five years, and over the ship class’s expected service life. The law treats U.S.S. John F. Kennedy (CVN–79), U.S.S. Michael Monsoor (DDG–1001), and U.S.S. Jack H. Lucas (DDG–125) as first ships of new classes, and the Senior Technical Authority must identify their critical systems. Definitions: battle force ship — a commissioned warship or naval ship that directly supports combat; delivery and Senior Technical Authority — as defined in the cited sections.
Full Legal Text
Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 8697
Title 10, Armed Forces
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110