Pilot program on safety and qualification of printable energetic feedstocks for additive manufacturing

(a)

Establishment

The Secretary of Defense shall establish a pilot program, to be carried out by the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in coordination with the Capability Program Executive, Ammunition and Energetics (or successor organization) and appropriate service acquisition executives, to evaluate the safety, quality, and qualification pathways of printable energetic feedstocks for controlled additive manufacturing applications.(b)

Purpose

The purposes of the pilot program are—(1)to determine whether the use of printable energetic feedstocks can improve handling safety, process stability, lot-to-lot consistency, and supply chain resilience relative to traditional energetics manufacturing and handling methods;(2)to analyze logistics impact on throughput, waste, defect rate, and constituent material availability versus state-of-the-art legacy processes;(3)to develop and validate new test and evaluation methods, if necessary, including metrology and digital quality assurance, suitable for assessing printable energetic feedstocks for Department of Defense use;(4)to assess applicability of printable energetic feedstocks to existing or planned munition and energetics modernization efforts, consistent with explosive safety, security, and environmental requirements, that provide an advantage in performance or logistics; and(5)to identify barriers to adoption, including infrastructure, standards, certification, and workforce requirements.(c)

Activities

Activities under the pilot program may include—(1)identification, assessment, and characterization of representative printable energetic feedstocks and their performance consistency under controlled conditions;(2)development of qualification criteria and data packages to inform safety releases, waivers, or certifications as appropriate;(3)limited demonstrations at Government facilities or contractor facilities that meet all applicable explosive safety and security requirements;(4)development of nonproprietary standards, metrology approaches, and digital thread quality controls for printable energetic feedstocks; and(5)analysis of operational impacts via wargaming or mission/campaign modeling and experimental performance data.(d)

Comparative safety assessment required

As a core element of the pilot program, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct a comparative assessment of the safety of the use of printable energetic feedstocks relative to traditional energetics manufacturing and handling, including, at a minimum—(1)hazards and risks associated with storage, transport, handling, and processing;(2)sensitivity and response to credible stimuli (including thermal and mechanical stimuli) using appropriate test standards;(3)process safety considerations, including potential failure modes and mitigations for controlled additive manufacturing workflows;(4)accident and incident risk modeling (including qualitative and quantitative risk assessment where feasible); and(5)recommended safety controls, facility requirements, and operational constraints for any future operational use.(e)

Safety and security requirements

The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that activities under the pilot program—(1)are conducted only at facilities compliant with applicable explosive safety siting, storage, handling, and operating requirements;(2)incorporate counter-diversion safeguards, inventory accountability, and chain-of-custody controls;(3)apply cybersecurity and access controls for any digital manufacturing files, process parameters, and quality records; and(4)do not authorize dissemination of restricted manufacturing parameters outside approved Government and cleared-industry channels.(f)

Reporting

Not later than 180 days after initiation of the pilot program, and annually thereafter for the duration of the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees (as that term is defined in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code) a report that includes—(1)pilot objectives, participants, test locations, and safety governance structure;(2)test methodologies, standards used, and key safety and quality metrics;(3)results of activities conducted under subsection (c), including identification, assessment, and characterization of representative printable energetic feedstocks, demonstrations, qualification criteria, data packages, and standard development;(4)results of the comparative safety assessment required under subsection (d), including identified hazards, mitigations, and residual risk;(5)an assessment of cost, schedule, and scalability relative to traditional energetics manufacturing and handling;(6)recommended qualification and certification pathways, including any standards gaps; and(7)any recommended legislative, regulatory, or resourcing actions required to enable safe adoption.(g)

Duration

The pilot program shall be carried out for not more than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this section.