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Last progress June 12, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 12, 2025 by Ronny Jackson
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to award contracts for up to 24 long-range assault aircraft before a program reaches full-rate production as part of an accelerated low-rate early production effort. The authority is intended to speed delivery, preserve program momentum and learning, stabilize the workforce and industrial base (including facilities in Texas and Kansas), and curb cost growth; the law also requires the Secretary to follow three statutory considerations when using the authority. Requires the Secretary to deliver a report to the congressional defense committees within 180 days after enactment describing the implementation plan and timeline for the procurement, the status of industrial-base readiness and supply‑chain coordination, and estimates of long‑term cost savings and operational benefits from the early production effort.
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to enter into contracts, ahead of full-rate production, to procure not more than 24 future long range assault aircraft as part of an accelerated low-rate early production effort.
Objective: Expedite delivery of future long range assault aircraft operational capability to the warfighter.
Objective: Maintain momentum and learning continuity between test article completion and full production ramp-up.
Objective: Stabilize and retain the specialized workforce and industrial base supporting the aircraft, including critical suppliers and production facilities in Texas, Kansas, and other States.
Objective: Mitigate cost escalation risks and improve program affordability across the life cycle.
Who is affected and how:
Overall impact: The law is designed to accelerate fielding and protect the supplier base, at the cost of increased acquisition risk if technical and test milestones are not sufficiently mature; the reporting requirement gives Congress a mechanism to evaluate tradeoffs and monitor industrial‑base readiness and cost implications.
Updated 4 days ago
Last progress June 12, 2025 (8 months ago)