§ 4292. Contracts: limitations on lead system integrators

• (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), no entity performing lead system integrator functions in the acquisition of a major system by the Department of Defense may have any direct financial interest in the development or construction of any individual system or element of any system of systems.
• (b) An entity described in subsection (a) may have a direct financial interest in the development or construction of an individual system or element of a system of systems if—
  • (1) the Secretary of Defense certifies to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives that—
    • (A) the entity was selected by the Department of Defense as a contractor to develop or construct the system or element concerned through the use of competitive procedures; and
    • (B) the Department took appropriate steps to prevent any organizational conflict of interest in the selection process; or
  • (2) the entity was selected by a subcontractor to serve as a lower-tier subcontractor, through a process over which the entity exercised no control.
• (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude an entity described in subsection (a) from performing work necessary to integrate two or more individual systems or elements of a system of systems with each other.