EconDefense
INT-01 / International business, logistics and investment

Jointly research and develop conventional defense technology with allies and friendly partners

Enter cooperative R&D agreements, share cash and noncash project costs, and acquire domestic or foreign equipment for side-by-side testing.

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At a glance

Possible toolINT-01 · Cooperation & exchanges

Authority holder: Secretary of Defense; conventional-capability and unequal-cost-sharing determinations delegable only to listed senior officials.

Cooperation & exchanges

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

Availability and verification

Existing statutory pathway; conditional on the listed findings, approvals, eligible purpose and actual available funds. Not an obligation-ready certification.

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Eligible NATO, major non-NATO ally, friendly-country or EU participant; formal agreement.
  • Determine improvement of common conventional defense capabilities through emerging technology.
  • Other friendly-country agreement: congressional report and 30-day wait.
  • Equitable cost sharing, or written strategic-value determination for unequal sharing.

Limits & exclusions

  • Partner may not fund its contribution with U.S. military/economic assistance.
  • Project funds under this authority may not procure equipment/services from foreign entities; distinguish the separately authorized testing acquisition in subsection (g).
  • Side-by-side testing can qualify as competition for follow-on procurement within the statutory five-year window; not unlimited sole-source authority.

Funding conditions

  • U.S. share needs available purpose-appropriate funds; foreign shares may use §2350i.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • Service acquisition program/laboratory international-cooperation staff
  • CCMD capability sponsor
    Office profile

Resources

  • Military Department or Defense Agency program manager and comptroller
    Office profile

Approval

  • Secretary of Defense or validly delegated official
    Office profile
  • Department of State where statute or agreement process requires

Execution

  • Service international programs offices and warranted contracting/agreement officers
    Office profile
  • Relevant program executive office or laboratory

Partners & review

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

Coordination pathway

Capability sponsor → Service international armaments office/program manager → R&E/A&S and foreign-disclosure review → authorized senior finding/agreement → funded execution.

Actor and execution-role sources

Legal basis

What this research establishes

Legal powerSource and conditions recorded
EligibilityProject-specific check needed
Available fundsBalances not verified
DelegationValid signature authority must be checked
ExecutionOffice capacity and approvals must be checked

Confidence: High on express statutory capability; execution/delegation and currently available resources require program-specific confirmation.

Currentness: GovInfo 2024 U.S. Code baseline read; relevant FY2026 NDAA (Pub. L. 119-60, enacted 2025-12-18) amendments reviewed. Target 2026-10-02; source-specific OLRC checks and remaining delta are documented in international.md. No certification of current funds or executed delegations. OLRC indexed §2350a text through 2026-09-20 corroborates EU participation and unequal cost-sharing rules.

Research target: October 2, 2026. A record-specific last-review date is not supplied. Publication date is not legal-currentness certification.

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