Pentagon to seek 'Right to Repair' provisions in Army contracts

Pentagon backs army's right to repair its own weapons

Robert Besser
06 May 2025, 16:13 GMT+10

Pentagon to seek 'Right to Repair' provisions in Army contracts

The U.S. Department of Defense wants to change its contracts so the Army can fix its own weapons instead of always relying on the companies that made them, to save time and money
A memo signed on April 30 by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says this new "right to repair" will help the Army take better care of its equipment and work more efficiently
Right now, the Army often has to pay big companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and RTX to fix broken parts using expensive tools and staff

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. Department of Defense wants to change its contracts so the Army can fix its own weapons instead of always relying on the companies that made them. This would save time and money.

A memo signed on April 30 by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says this new "right to repair" will help the Army take better care of its equipment and work more efficiently. Right now, the Army often has to pay big companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and RTX to fix broken parts using expensive tools and staff. Instead, trained soldiers could make spare parts with 3D printers and do repairs more quickly and cheaply.

The Army wants the right to do its own maintenance and use the tools, software, and data it needs, even if patents or company rules protect those. Hegseth said contracts should allow this while still protecting American companies' valuable ideas.

Senator Elizabeth Warren supports this change. She says it will strengthen the Army in future wars and prevent delays caused by waiting for contractors to fix things at high costs.

This is part of a bigger push to modernize faster. In March, Hegseth also called for new ways of buying software, hoping to work more with commercial and smaller technology companies. His latest memo also tells the Army to focus on key areas like long-range weapons, air and missile defense, cybersecurity, electronic warfare, and space defense.