S.Amdt. 6593

SA 6593, submitted by Ms. Alsobrooks, aims to add a pilot program to bill S. 4784. The purpose of this program is to increase the use of advanced and additive manufacturing to fix part shortages, production delays, and supply chain constraints that affect the repair and building of naval ships.

Goals of the Pilot Program

The Secretary of the Navy is tasked with designing the program to:

• Identify items like replacement parts, tooling, and shipbuilding components that suffer from foreign dependence, obsolete production methods, long lead times, or limited suppliers.
• Evaluate if additive and advanced manufacturing can produce these items while meeting Navy quality, safety, certification, and cybersecurity requirements.
• Strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity and reduce delays in ship repair, maintenance, and construction.
• Create repeatable certification pathways and qualification standards for these components.

Implementation and Support

To carry out the program, the Secretary shall:

• Pick at least three classes of naval vessels to participate.
• Partner with private shipbuilders, public shipyards, suppliers, and other domestic shipbuilding entities.
• Support qualified technical organizations, federally funded research and development centers, and University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs).
• Set up procedures for the certification, qualification, and testing of parts.
• Manage digital models and technical data to prevent vendor lock-in and support long-term sustainment.

The Secretary may also use UARCs for technical support, which includes workforce training, materials testing, assessing cybersecurity risks of digital files, and advising on how to scale technologies.

Accountability and Timeline

The Secretary must submit a report to congressional defense committees within one year of the Act's enactment. This report must detail participating partners and ship classes, the parts selected, the program's impact on costs and delays, any barriers encountered, and recommendations for expansion.

The authority for this program ends on December 31, 2032.