S. 3381: To require coordination of depot-level maintenance in multinational exercises conducted by the Air Force.
This bill aims to enhance the cooperation and coordination of depot-level maintenance activities during multinational exercises conducted by the U.S. Air Force, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. Here’s a detailed breakdown of its key components:
Coordination Mandates
The Secretary of the Air Force is required to ensure that:
- At least one multinational exercise each year includes discussions and activities related to depot-level maintenance, repair, and sustainment considerations.
- These exercises should involve:
- Identifying cooperative opportunities to handle maintenance and repairs, which may reduce the need for transportation in the area.
- Facilitating real-time support for managing munitions stock levels and resupply routes.
- Mutual recognition of airworthiness and maintenance certification between the U.S. and participating nations.
- Conducting emergency exercises to prepare for situations in which an aircraft from a participating nation breaks down while in the U.S. or vice versa, especially in challenging logistics scenarios.
Cooperation with Relevant Commands
Coordination will also involve the participation of various U.S. military entities, such as:
- U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
- U.S. Pacific Air Forces
- U.S. Air Mobility Command
- Air Force Sustainment Center
Reporting Requirements
Within one year of the bill's enactment, the Secretary of the Air Force is required to submit a report to Congress which includes:
- Lessons learned from the exercises involving the Republic of Korea and Australia.
- Lists of candidate systems for cooperative maintenance with these countries.
- Depot-level repair workload opportunities.
- Potential ways to involve Korean and Australian industry partners in maintenance activities.
- Identified logistical challenges and potential barriers related to intellectual property and international arms regulations.
- Recommendations to facilitate partnerships in depot-level maintenance and an analysis of current capabilities and gaps in the industrial base of the involved countries.
Definitions
The bill specifically defines “covered nations” to include:
- Australia
- Canada
- Japan
- New Zealand
- South Korea
- United Kingdom
- Other nations designated as covered by the Secretary of the Air Force.
Overall Purpose
The overarching aim of this legislation is to strengthen U.S. military partnerships through improved maintenance and operational cooperation, thereby enhancing overall readiness and capability in the Indo-Pacific theatre.
Relevant Companies
- BA (Boeing) - As a major defense contractor supplying aircraft to the U.S. Air Force and allied nations, Boeing could see implications related to maintenance and repair needs for their products in operational partnerships with the covered nations.
- RTX (Raytheon Technologies) - This company provides various military systems and could be affected by increased opportunities for repair and maintenance collaboration with foreign military partners.
- LMT (Lockheed Martin) - Similar to Boeing, Lockheed Martin is involved in the production of military aircraft and technologies, thereby likely being impacted by any cooperative maintenance agreements formed through the bill.
This is an AI-generated summary of the bill text. There may be mistakes.
Sponsors
3 bill sponsors
Actions
2 actions
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| Dec. 08, 2025 | Introduced in Senate |
| Dec. 08, 2025 | Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. |
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