10 U.S.C. § 4203 — Major subprograms

(a) Authority to designate major subprograms for acquisition^* reporting. (1)(A) If the Secretary of Defense decides that a major defense acquisition program^* requires delivery of two or more categories of end items that differ significantly in form and function, the Secretary may designate each category as a major subprogram for acquisition reporting under this subpart. (B) If the Secretary decides that such a program requires delivery in two or more increments or blocks, the Secretary may designate each increment or block as a major subprogram for that reporting. This section does not define the quoted terms “major defense acquisition program,” “end items,” “increments,” or “blocks.” (2) The Secretary must give the congressional defense committees^* written notice of a proposed designation at least 30 days before it takes effect.

(b) Reporting requirements. (1) If the Secretary designates a major subprogram under subsection (a), Selected Acquisition Reports, unit-cost reports, and program baselines under this subpart must show cost, schedule, and performance information (A) for the major defense acquisition program as a whole, except as paragraph (2) provides, and (B) for each designated major subprogram. (2) For a program with a designated major subprogram, unit costs under this subpart must be submitted using the definitions in subsection (d).

(c) Requirement to cover the entire program. If one subprogram is designated as a major subprogram, all other parts of the program must be organized appropriately into one or more subprograms under that program. Each such organized subprogram must be treated as a major subprogram under subsection (a).

(d) Definitions. Despite paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 4351(a) of this title, for a major defense acquisition program with one or more major subprograms designated under this section: (1) “program acquisition unit cost” applies at the subprogram level. It means the total cost of developing and procuring the major defense acquisition program, plus specific military construction costs, that can reasonably be assigned to the subprogram, divided by the relevant number of fully configured end items to be produced under it. (2) “procurement unit cost” applies at the subprogram level. It means all funds programmed to be available for procurement obligations for that subprogram, divided by the number of fully configured end items to be procured under it. (3) For a designated major subprogram, “major contract” means each of the six largest prime, associate, or Government-furnished-equipment contracts under the subprogram that exceeds $40,000,000 and is not a firm-fixed-price contract. (4) For a designated major subprogram, “life-cycle cost” means all development, procurement, military-construction, and operations-and-support costs, regardless of the funding source or who controls the management. This section does not otherwise define the quoted terms.