(a) In general
Section 4872 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Effective date and applicability; regulations
(1) Effective date and applicability
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date (the effective date ) that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to solicitations issued, and contracts entered into, on or after such effective date, except as provided in paragraph (3).
(2) Regulations
Not later than the effective date specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense shall issue regulations to implement section 4872 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a).
(3) Applicability to Tier 2 materials
Subsection (e) of section 4872, as amended by subsection (a), shall not apply to solicitations issued or contracts awarded before January 1, 2028. Until such date, a solicitation issued or contract awarded for a procurement of Tier 2 material (or covered item that contains Tier 2 material) shall be administered in accordance with section 4872 as in effect immediately before the effective date specified in paragraph (1).
(c) Non-execution into current law, and repeal, of amendment prohibiting procurement of material mined, refined, or separated in any covered nation
(1) In general
Section 844 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 ( Public Law 116–283 ; 134 Stat. 3766), as amended by section 848 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 ( Public Law 119–60 ; 139 Stat. 978), is repealed.
(2) Effective date
The repeal made by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the earlier of December 31, 2026, or the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Expedited qualification of new domestic and allied-nation sources
(1) In general
The Secretary of Defense shall establish an expedited qualification process for new domestic and allied-nation sources of covered material (as defined in section 4872 of title 10, United States Code).
(2) Scope
The process under paragraph (1) shall apply to—
source qualification;
product qualification; and
platform or program qualification.
(3) Deadline
The Secretary shall ensure that, for each entity seeking to be qualified as a domestic or allied-nation source, the qualification process is completed not later than 12 months after the date on which the entity submits a materially complete qualification package in the form prescribed by the Secretary.
(4) Acceptance of existing testing and qualification data
In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, accept and rely on—
test data, analyses, certifications, or other qualification evidence from a Government laboratory, an accredited independent laboratory, or an accredited commercial laboratory, whether located in the United States or outside the United States;
qualification results or approvals previously accepted by a military department, another Federal agency, an original equipment manufacturer, or another commercial qualification regime; and
commercial production history, first-article results, lot acceptance data, and comparable evidence of performance.
(5) Department-wide recognition
The Secretary shall ensure that the result of each qualification process completed under this subsection is accepted throughout the Department of Defense for the same or substantially similar applications to the maximum extent practicable.
(6) Implementation
The Secretary shall maintain a centralized record of the result of each qualification process completed under this subsection for use across the military departments and defense agencies.
(7) Qualification by prime contractor
The Secretary shall, for the purposes of this subsection, establish policy for the acceptance of a determination by a prime contractor that a domestic supplier of a covered material is capable of providing such covered material in the form and quality required by the prime contractor and thus deem the domestic supplier a qualified source.
(8) Definition
In this subsection, the term allied nation means the United States or any foreign nation (other than a covered nation, as defined in section 4872 of title 10, United States Code) designated by the Secretary for purposes of this subsection.