10 U.S.C. § 4272

(a) In General .— With respect to a major defense acquisition program, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct or approve independent technical risk assessments before any decision to grant Milestone B approval for the program pursuant to section 4252 of this title , any decision to enter into low-rate initial production or full-rate production, or at any other time considered appropriate by the Secretary, that includes the identification of any critical technologies or manufacturing processes that have not been successfully demonstrated in a relevant environment. (b) Guidance .— The Secretary shall issue guidance and a framework for the conduct, execution, and approval of independent technical risk assessments.