EconDefense
ACQ-33 / Research, innovation and experimentation

Finance, furnish, lend, lease or sell specialized contractor research/test facilities

A covered contract may acquire, construct or furnish necessary specialized research, development or test facilities and equipment. The FY2026 amendment also permits jointly funded projects spanning DoD components, other federal agencies and eligible nonfederal entities, subject to written agreements and statutory safeguards.

Action briefPDF dossier · original 168Download record
Authority / instrument · ACQ-33

Test infrastructure

Research, innovation and experimentation

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

Secretary of the military department concerned

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Explicitly does not authorize new construction or improvements with general utility.

Recorded executor

Contracting office and contractor

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedLegally available RDT&E funds, expressly including budget activities 1–3, and O&M funds supporting authorized activities may be used. This authority supplies no new appropriation or finding that project funds are available. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProgram unverifiedThe original corpus snapshot omitted the enacted 2025 joint-facility expansion. The current record includes it; public implementing regulations and a specifically attributed project remain unverified. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Possible toolACQ-33 · Loans & guarantees
Legal basis10 U.S.C. §4174

Authority holder: Secretary of the military department concerned

Loans & guaranteesProperty & leases

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Express statutory pathway; award-specific appropriations, available balances, delegations, implementation and approvals not independently verified.

Program process and intake

Checked 2026-10-04 · implementation not verified. Program evidence is separate from legal authority, available funds and transaction approval.

The original corpus snapshot omitted the enacted 2025 joint-facility expansion. The current record includes it; public implementing regulations and a specifically attributed project remain unverified.

Section 4174 jointly funded test/R&D facilities

Who this route serves
Government program sponsors and eligible non-Federal partners
Administering office / routing lead
Secretary of Defense or designee for joint agreements; responsible military-department Secretary for contract necessity
Unverified

Section 214 adds subsections 4174(d)–(f), extending covered contracts to jointly funded projects. Enacted authority is not proof that implementing procedures have been issued.

What this evidence label means
Expansion enacted; regulations unverified

Implementation regulations were required within 180 days after December 18, 2025; no issued instrument was located in this research.

Status reference date: 2026-10-04 · research checked 2026-10-04

FY2026 NDAA P.L.119-60 · Section214,139 Stat.774–775statute · published 2025-12-18 · Evidence record

Program eligibility

  • Non-Federal participation requires a national-security-interest determination and compliance with other applicable law.

    FY2026 NDAA P.L.119-60 · Section214,139 Stat.774–775statute · published 2025-12-18 · Evidence record

Steps and preparation

  • Written agreements must allocate costs, access priorities, management/lead agency, ownership/IP and dispute resolution.

    FY2026 NDAA P.L.119-60 · Section214,139 Stat.774–775statute · published 2025-12-18 · Evidence record
Funding, limits and authority relationship

Funding and financial terms

  • contract/project cost-sharing authority · FY2026 law; project-specific funds

    Express RDT&E coverage includesBA1–3; O&M only to the extent used for authorized activities.

    FY2026 NDAA P.L.119-60 · Section214,139 Stat.774–775statute · published 2025-12-18 · Evidence record

Exclusions and limits

  • No automatic appropriation, unrestricted construction grant or verified public intake.

    FY2026 NDAA P.L.119-60 · Section214,139 Stat.774–775statute · published 2025-12-18 · Evidence record

Authority relationship source

FY2026 NDAA P.L.119-60 · Section214,139 Stat.774–775statute · published 2025-12-18 · Evidence record

Read enacted joint-facility conditions →

published guidance: Internal project/legal planning; no verified external application process.

Research scope and sources checked

Read enacted214 in full; searched4174/predecessor2353, current legislative classification and acquisition/FMR references. Direct currentFMR access returned403. Avoided treating an old1982 project or general GOCO facility as proven4174 use.

What remains unverified

  • Locate issued214 regulations/templates and an explicit4174 joint-project example before claiming operating readiness.
  • Original legal_basis should includeP.L.119-60§ 214 and requirements/funding should reflect this amendment.

A dated source check is not continuing monitoring. Recheck the linked official notice before preparing a submission. Browse program research →

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Facilities/equipment necessary for contract; allowable-cost rules.
  • Nonremovable installations on nonfederal land need reimbursement, land-acquisition option or other adequate U.S. protection.
  • Each joint-project participant needs a written agreement covering cost shares, access priorities, lead agency and management, ownership and intellectual-property rights, and dispute resolution. Nonfederal participation requires the Secretary of Defense’s national-security-interest determination and consistency with applicable law.

Limits & exclusions

  • Explicitly does not authorize new construction or improvements with general utility.
  • Sale/reimbursement receipts normally go to Treasury unless another law applies.

Funding conditions

  • Legally available RDT&E funds, expressly including budget activities 1–3, and O&M funds supporting authorized activities may be used. This authority supplies no new appropriation or finding that project funds are available.
  • Loans/leases may be with or without reimbursement; sales are at fair value.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Current presentation corrected from dated evidence

The FY2026 law expands covered contracts to jointly funded research facilities. This is enacted scope, not verification of a functioning intake or funded project.

This correction updates the current derivative; the original inventory remains archived.

P.L. 119-60 §214 — Research, development and test facilities · Section 214(a)–(b), 139 Stat. 774–775; additions to 10 U.S.C. §4174(d)–(f) and required implementing regulations.statute · published 2025-12-18 · Evidence record
Original presentation — retained for audit

The original summary and funding paragraph predate the joint-project expansion. Original general-utility and Treasury-receipt limits remain in force.

summary
An R&D contract may acquire or construct necessary specialized research/development/test facilities and equipment at U.S. expense and make them available to the contractor.
requirements
Facilities/equipment necessary for contract; allowable-cost rules.; Nonremovable installations on nonfederal land need reimbursement, land-acquisition option or other adequate U.S. protection.
funding
R&D contract funds; loans/leases may be with or without reimbursement; sales at fair value.

Need & planning

  • R&D program and test engineers

Resources

  • Military-department research program funds

Approval

  • Military-department Secretary determination/authorized delegate

Execution

  • Contracting office and contractor

Partners & review

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

Program establishes necessity → facilities/fiscal review → Secretary/delegate determination → contract sets property/disposition protections.

Actor and execution-role sources

Legal basis

  • 10 U.S.C. §4174 · 2024 edition (GovInfo)Primary statutory text; primary GovInfo baseline and amendment audit identified in research narrative.
  • P.L. 119-60 §214Section 214(a)–(b), 139 Stat. 774–775; additions to 10 U.S.C. §4174(d)–(f) and required implementing regulations.

What this research establishes

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedLegally available RDT&E funds, expressly including budget activities 1–3, and O&M funds supporting authorized activities may be used. This authority supplies no new appropriation or finding that project funds are available. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProgram unverifiedThe original corpus snapshot omitted the enacted 2025 joint-facility expansion. The current record includes it; public implementing regulations and a specifically attributed project remain unverified. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.

Currentness: GovInfo 2024 Code (includes FY2025 NDAA, P.L. 118-159) read in full for cited provision; targeted FY2026 NDAA P.L. 119-60 amendment/repeal sweep. No claim of complete legislative currency through 2026-10-02; remaining 2026 delta needs counsel validation.

Review scope: Original research target October 2, 2026; no record-specific last-review date supplied. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.

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