Product Support Statutes
The term "product support" means the package of support functions required to field and maintain the readiness and operational capability of major weapon systems, subsystems, and components, including all functions related to weapon system readiness. Product support statutes are related laws enacted by a legislature.
Source: 10 USC 4324 (formerly 10 USC 2337), Life-cycle management and product support
Key product support statutes include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- 10 USC 1706: Government Performance of Certain Acquisition Functions - Outlines Congress’ intent that DoD and the military departments ensure that “for each major defense acquisition program and each major automated information system program, each of the following positions is performed by a properly qualified member of the armed forces or full-time employee of the Department of Defense”, including the Product Support Manager (PSM).
- 10 USC 1707: Cadre of Intellectual Property Experts - The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall establish a cadre of personnel who are experts in intellectual property matters. The purpose of the cadre is to ensure a consistent, strategic, and highly knowledgeable approach to acquiring or licensing intellectual property by providing expert advice, assistance, and resources to the acquisition workforce on intellectual property matters, including acquiring or licensing intellectual property.
- 10 USC 2208: Working Capital Funds [WCF] - To control and account more effectively for the cost of programs and work performed in the DoD, the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) may require establish working-capital funds to finance inventories of such supplies as he may designate and provide working capital for such industrial-type activities.
- 10 USC 2228: Office of Corrosion Policy & Oversight - Outlines roles, responsibilities, definitions and requirements for DoD corrosion prevention and control within in the Department of Defense.
- 10 U.S.C. §2451 Defense Supply Management - The Secretary of Defense shall develop a single catalog system and related program of standardizing supplies for the Department of Defense. In cataloging, the Secretary shall name, describe, classify, and number each item recurrently used, bought, stocked, or distributed by the Department of Defense, so that only one distinctive combination of letters or numerals, or both, identifies the same item throughout the Department of Defense.
- 10 U.S.C. §2454 Supply catalog: new or obsolete items - After any part of the supply catalog described in section 2451 of this title is distributed, and with respect to the kinds of items covered by that part, only the items listed in it may be procured for recurrent use in the Department of Defense. However, a military department may acquire any new item that is necessary to carry out its mission. As soon as such an item is acquired, it shall be submitted to the Secretary for inclusion in the catalog and the standardization program. Obsolete items may be deleted from the catalog at any time.
- 10 USC 3771: Rights in Technical Data: Regulations - Outlines regulations to define the legitimate interest of the United States and of a contractor or subcontractor in technical data pertaining to an item or process.
- 10 USC 3772: Rights in Technical Data: Provisions Required in Contracts - Outlines appropriate provisions relating to technical data.
- 10 USC 3774: Major Weapon Systems and Subsystems: Long-Term Technical Data Needs - Outlines requirements for program managers for major weapon systems and subsystems of major weapon systems to assess the long-term technical data needs of such systems and subsystems; and establish corresponding acquisition strategies that provide for technical data rights needed to sustain such systems and subsystems over their life cycle.
- 10 USC 3791: Management of Intellectual Property Matters within the Department of Defense - The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall develop policy on the acquisition or licensing of intellectual property.
- 10 USC 4251: Major Defense Acquisition Programs [MDAP]: Determination Required Before Milestone [MS] A Approval - Lists specific requirements for granting MS A approval for a MDAP or a major subprogram by the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) for the program or subprogram
- 10 USC 4252: Major Defense Acquisition Programs: Certification Required Before Milestone B Approval - Lists specific requirements for granting MS B approval for a MDAP or a major subprogram by the MDA for the program or subprogram, including “life-cycle sustainment planning, including corrosion prevention and mitigation planning, has identified and evaluated relevant sustainment costs throughout development, production, operation, sustainment, and disposal of the program, and any alternatives, and that such costs are reasonable and have been accurately estimated; as well as an estimate having been made of the requirements for core logistics capabilities and the associated sustaining workloads required to support such requirements.”
- 10 USC 4321: Sustainment of Systems to be Replaced - The SECDEF shall require that, whenever a new major defense acquisition program begins development, the defense acquisition authority responsible for that program shall develop a plan (to be known as a "sustainment plan") for the existing system that the system under development is intended to replace.
- 10 USC 4323: Sustainment Reviews - Requires the Secretary of each military department to conduct a sustainment review of each major weapon system not later than five years after declaration of initial operational capability of a major defense acquisition program and throughout the life cycle of the weapon system to assess the product support strategy, performance, and operation and support costs of the weapon system.
- 10 USC 4324: Life-Cycle Management and Product Support (Product Support Managers & Arrangements) - Foundational statutory requirement for life cycle management, establishes roles and responsibilities of the PSM, and defines key terms including product support arrangement (PSA), product support integrator (PSI) and product support provider (PSP).
- 10 USC 4325: Assessment, management, and control of operating and support [O&S] costs for major weapon systems - Addresses O&S costs for major weapon systems, including product support metrics, data collection and analysis, affordability, and establishes requirement for Independent Logistics Assessments (ILA).
- 10 USC 4328: Weapon System Design: Sustainment Factors - The SECDEF shall ensure that the defense acquisition system gives ample emphasis to sustainment factors, particularly those factors that are affected principally by the design of a weapon system, in the development of a weapon system. The Program Manager (PM) of a weapon system shall include in the solicitation for and terms of a covered contract for the weapon system clearly defined and measurable requirements for engineering activities and design specifications for reliability and maintainability. In this section, the term "covered contract", with respect to a weapon system, means a contract for either:
- The engineering and manufacturing development of a weapon system, including embedded software
- The production of a weapon system, including embedded software.
- 10 USC 2460: Definition of Depot-Level Maintenance and Repair - Provides the statutory definition of depot-level maintenance and repair.
- 10 USC 2464: Core Logistics Capabilities - Commonly referred to as the “Core Law” it mandates the DoD maintain a core logistics capability that is Government-owned and Government-operated (including Government personnel and Government-owned and Government-operated equipment and facilities) to ensure a ready and controlled source of technical competence and resources necessary to ensure effective and timely response to a mobilization, national defense contingency situations, and other emergency requirements.
- 10 USC 2466: Limitations on the Performance of Depot-Level Maintenance of Materiel - Commonly referred to as the “50-50 Rule” it mandates that not more than 50 percent of the funds made available in a fiscal year to a military department or a Defense Agency for depot-level maintenance and repair workload may be used to contract for the performance by non-Federal Government personnel of such workload for the military department or the Defense Agency. Any such funds that are not used for such a contract shall be used for the performance of depot-level maintenance and repair workload by employees of the DoD.
- 10 USC 2469: Contracts to Perform Workloads Previously Performed by Depot-Level Activities of the Department of Defense: Requirement of Competition - Commonly referred to as the “$3M Rule” requires a depot-level maintenance and repair workload described in the statute is is not changed to performance by a contractor or by another depot-level activity of the DoD without competition for any depot-level maintenance and repair workload that has a value of not less than $3,000,000 (including the cost of labor and materials) and is being performed by a depot-level activity of the DoD.
- 10 USC 2470: Depot-level Activities of the Department of Defense: Authority to Compete for Maintenance and Repair Workloads of Other Federal Agencies - Authorizes DoD depot-level activities to be eligible to compete for the performance of any depot-level maintenance and repair workload of a Federal agency for which competitive procedures are used to select the entity to perform the workload. Depot maintenance is a capability, rather than a location or an organization.
- 10 USC 2472: Prohibition on Management of Depot Employees by End Strength - The civilian employees of the DoD, including the civilian employees of the military departments and the Defense Agencies, who perform, or are involved in the performance of, depot-level maintenance and repair workloads may not be managed on the basis of any constraint or limitation in terms of man years, end strength, full-time equivalent positions, or maximum number of employees. Such employees shall be managed solely on the basis of the available workload and the funds made available for such depot-level maintenance and repair.
- 10 USC 2474: Centers of Industrial and Technical Excellence [CITE]: Designation; Public-Private Partnerships - Facilitates public-private partnerships (PPP). Objectives are: to maximize the utilization of the capacity of a CITE; to reduce or eliminate the cost of ownership of a Center by the DoD in such areas of responsibility as operations and maintenance and environmental remediation; to reduce the cost of products of the DoD produced or maintained at a Center; to leverage private sector investment in- such efforts as plant and equipment recapitalization for a Center; and the promotion of the undertaking of commercial business ventures at a Center; and to foster cooperation between the armed forces and private industry.
- 10 USC 2476: Minimum Capital Investment for Certain Depots - Each fiscal year, the Secretary of a military department shall invest in the capital budgets of the covered depots of that military department a total amount equal to not less than six percent of the average total combined maintenance, repair, and overhaul workload funded at all the depots of that military department for the preceding three fiscal years.
- 10 USC 2563: Articles and Services of Industrial Facilities: Sale to Persons Outside the Department of Defense - Authorizes the SECDEF to sell in accordance with this section to a person outside the DoD articles and services referred to in the statute that are not available from any US commercial source.
NOTE: Effective 1 Jan 2022, a number of Title 10 USC numbering changes were implemented. OSD maintains an excellent website containing crosswalk information between the old and the new statutory numbering.