S.Amdt. 3096

SA 3096. Mr. CRUZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle B of title I, add the following:

SEC. 112. AUTHORIZATION TO INITIATE EARLY PRODUCTION OF
FUTURE LONG RANGE ASSAULT AIRCRAFT.

(a) Authorization.--The Secretary of the Army may enter
into contracts, in advance of full-rate production, for the
procurement of not more than 24 future long range assault
aircraft as part of an accelerated low-rate early production
effort.
(b) Objectives.--In carrying out the early production
effort described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Army
shall pursue the following objectives:
(1) To expedite delivery of future long range assault
aircraft operational capability to the warfighter.
(2) To maintain momentum and learning continuity between
test article completion and full production ramp-up.
(3) To stabilize and retain the specialized workforce and
industrial base supporting future long range assault
aircraft, including critical suppliers and production
facilities in Texas, Kansas, and other States.
(4) To mitigate cost escalation risks and improve program
affordability across the life cycle.
(c) Considerations.--In executing the authority provided by
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
(1) prioritize program continuity, cost-efficiency, and
workforce retention across the supply chain for tiltrotor
aircraft;
(2) ensure that aircraft procured as part of the early
production effort described in subsection (a) incorporate
lessons learned from test article evaluations; and
(3) maintain flexibility in design to accommodate future
upgrades through the modular open systems architecture and
digital backbone.
(d) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army
shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report
detailing--
(1) the implementation plan and timeline for the
procurement and early production effort described in
subsection (a);
(2) the status of industrial base readiness and supply
chain coordination; and
(3) estimated long-term cost savings and operational
benefits derived from such early production effort.
______