(a) Establishment
(1) Authority
Beginning not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy, acting through the Commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command and in coordination with the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command and the heads of such other Navy organizations as the Secretary considers appropriate, shall carry out a pilot program to—
field, evaluate, and assess compact containerized expeditionary advanced manufacturing capabilities in support of naval and joint forces operating in contested, remote, and expeditionary environments;
expand the use of advanced and additive manufacturing within the Department of Defense;
support the objectives of the Department of the Navy Advanced Manufacturing Strategy, including warfighter self-sufficiency and distributed sustainment; and
evaluate and define validated Navy requirements for containerized expeditionary advanced manufacturing capabilities rather than replace traditional industrial base production, depot-level repair, or established logistics systems.
(2) Execution
(A) Lead agent
The Naval Sea Systems Command Technology Office, in coordination with the Naval Surface Warfare Centers, shall serve as the lead technical and programmatic agent for the pilot program.
(B) Support
The Secretary may use the Naval Postgraduate School, and seek to enter into agreements with other appropriate public or private entities, to support experimentation, operational execution, data collection, digital integration, sustainment planning, training development, and requirements capture activities conducted under the pilot program.
(b) Design of program
The Secretary shall design the pilot program to—
evaluate the operational utility of compact, containerized expeditionary advanced manufacturing systems capable of producing metal and polymer components in contested and austere environments;
assess how such capabilities may provide commanders with additional options to restore readiness in remote or denied conditions when traditional resupply or depot support is unavailable or delayed;
evaluate the appropriate role of commander discretion and commander risk in the production and installation of expeditionary-manufactured parts;
identify categories of components suitable for edge production and establish associated qualification, documentation, and digital traceability requirements;
assess operator training, workforce development, and certification requirements necessary to normalize safe and effective use of compact, containerized advanced manufacturing systems;
evaluate sustainment requirements for expeditionary manufacturing systems, including maintenance, consumables, digital integration, configuration management, and supply chain implications;
measure effects such systems on readiness, maintenance timelines, logistics demand, and operational availability; and
inform future Navy requirements, acquisition pathways, standards, and resourcing decisions regarding expeditionary manufacturing as a complementary sustainment capability.
(c) System characteristics
To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that advanced manufacturing systems evaluated under the pilot program shall—
consist of containerized platforms not exceeding a 10-foot by 10-foot footprint;
provide multi-material additive manufacturing capabilities;
integrate additive and subtractive manufacturing processes;
support secure digital engineering workflows and configuration control;
be compatible with naval and expeditionary power sources; and
be operable by trained military personnel in deployed maritime and expeditionary environments.
(d) Elements
The pilot program shall consist of the following two elements:
A forward-oriented element carried out in support of exercises and deployed maritime operations of the United States Indo-Pacific Command to evaluate—
operational employment;
test and evaluation under expeditionary conditions;
commander use authorities; and
training in distributed and contested environments.
An element carried out at one or more naval installations designated by the Secretary that are located in the continental United States and that may support surface, subsurface, and aviation forces to conduct—
real-time fleet feedback;
operator training development;
sustainment refinement;
digital integration; and
iterative requirements development.
(e) Procurement authority
To carry out the pilot program under this section, subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of the Navy shall procure not fewer than two expeditionary advanced manufacturing systems using amounts authorized to be appropriated for the Navy for research, development, test and evaluation, operations, or sustainment, consistent with applicable law.
(f) Reporting requirement
Not later than one year after the date of the establishment of the pilot program, and annually thereafter for the duration of the pilot program, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that includes—
an identification of the units and locations selected for purposes of the pilot program;
a description of the operational outcomes of the pilot program, including case studies;
an assessment of the employment authorities of the Commander of United States Pacific Command and associated risk frameworks that are relevant to the pilot program;
an identification of part categories appropriate for expeditionary production;
training, workforce, and certification requirements for the pilot program;
an identification of the sustainment and digital integration requirements of the pilot program;
the effects of the pilot program on readiness, logistics demand, and maintenance timelines; and
the recommendations of the Secretary regarding formal requirement validation and transition of expeditionary point-of-need advanced manufacturing to an enduring complementary capability.
(g) Duration
The duration of the pilot program required under subsection (a) shall be not fewer than three years and not more than five years.