Conduct and purchase defense-relevant research and development
Conduct basic, applied and advanced research and development internally, through military departments, by contract, or by agreement with another federal agency.
Contracts & purchases
ACQ-13 / Research, innovation and experimentation
Share underused laboratory capabilities and undertake public-private work
STRL partnership centers can permit private use of underused capabilities, perform cooperative work, leverage private recapitalization and credit receipts to cost-bearing funds.
At a glance
Mission goalDevelop a technology
Possible toolACQ-13 · Other statutory tools
Legal basis10 U.S.C. §4124
Responsible rolesPlanning · funds · approval · execution
Authority holder: Secretary of Defense, authorized Center/STRL directors
Other statutory tools
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.
Requirements and limits
Eligibility & prerequisites
- Use supports statutory partnership objectives and does not significantly impair laboratory mission.
- Private partner agrees to required direct/indirect cost reimbursement and indemnification.
Limits & exclusions
- No authorization for otherwise-prohibited conversion of government work to contractors.
- War/emergency can suspend access; unused capability is not a blanket disposal of public assets.
Funding conditions
- Reimbursement to appropriation, working-capital or revolving fund incurring costs; alternative statutory reinvestment conditions.
Who contributes what
Need & planning
- Laboratory scientific lead and Office of Research and Technology Applications
Resources
- Laboratory director and sponsoring component budget owner
Approval
- Laboratory director and agency approver as statute/delegation requires
Execution
- Laboratory ORTA, counsel and authorized agreement official
Partners & review
- Industry, universities, nonprofit and government collaborators within eligibility limits
Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.
Coordination pathway
Lab director/ORTA identifies spare capability → mission-impact and reimbursement determination → partner agreement → lab comptroller credits authorized receipts.
Legal basis
- 10 U.S.C. §4124Primary statutory text; primary GovInfo baseline and amendment audit identified in research narrative.
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 recordedThe record states funding rules and conditions; no program amount is attributed to this action.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementRole recordedRecorded executing role: Laboratory ORTA, counsel and authorized agreement official. Use the responsible program’s process.
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.