Unit Cost Report (UCR)

The Unit Cost Report (UCR) was established to satisfy congressional requirements for standardized information to control the unit cost growth of Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP). It includes Program Acquisition Unit Cost (PAUC) and Average Procurement Unit Cost (APUC) in program base year dollars, major contract information, and Acquisition Program Baseline (APB) schedule and performance deviations. With the exception of pre-Milestone B programs reporting RDT&E costs only, UCRs are required for all Acquisition Category (ACAT) I programs for which Selected Acquisition Reports (SAR) are submitted.

In accordance with section 2433 of title 10, United States Code, the Program Manager (PM) will prepare UCRs for all ACAT I programs submitting SAR, except pre-Milestone B programs that are reporting Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) costs only. [1]

Unit Cost Report (UCR) Statutory Requirement

Reported via the Defense Acquisition Executive Summary (DAES) submission process. The Program Manager provides the report quarterly to USD(AT&L) for the 3 quarters excluding the quarter with the annual SAR submission. The USD(AT&L) provides the report to Congress annually (included in SAR submission). [2]

Unit Cost Report (UCR) Content and Submission

The Program Manager (PM) will report the unit costs of the program to the Component Acquisition Executive on a quarterly basis through the electronic Defense Acquisition Executive Summary (DAES) submission process. The PM will submit the update in accordance with DAES submission procedures. Reporting will begin with the submission of the initial Selected Acquisition Reports (SAR), and terminate with the submission of the final SAR. Content of the unit cost report is specified in section 2433 of title 10, United States Code. [1]

Each Unit Cost Report (UCR) report will include: [1]

The program acquisition unit cost for the program (or for each designated major subprogram under the program).
In the case of a procurement program, the current estimate of the Program Acquisition Unit Cost and the Average Procurement Unit Cost (in base-year dollars) for the program (or for each designated major subprogram under the program);
Any Earned Value Management (EVM) cost and Schedule Variances, for each of the major contracts since entering the contract;
Any changes from program schedule milestones or program performances reflected in the baseline description established under section 2435 of title 10, United States Code that is known, expected, or anticipated by the program manager.
Any significant changes in the total program cost for development and procurement of the software component of the program or subprogram, schedule milestones for the software component of the program or subprogram, or expected performance for the software component of the program or subprogram that are known, expected or anticipated by the program manager.

Unit Cost Report (UCR) Critical Cost Breach Certification Requirements [1]

Per section 2433a of title 10 United States Code, the Program Manager shall notify the Department of Defense Component Acquisition Executive (CAE) immediately, whenever there is a reasonable cause to believe that the current estimate of either the Program Acquisition Unit Cost (PAUC) or Average Procurement Unit Cost (APUC) objective of a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP), or designated subprogram (in base-year dollars) has increased by at least 25 percent over the PAUC or APUC objective of the currently approved Acquisition Program Baseline (APB) estimate or at least 50 percent over the PAUC or APUC objective of the original/revised original APB (aka Nunn-McCurdy breach).

AcqTips:

See DAG for a complete breakdown on the process for UCR.

AcqLinks and References:

Updated: 8/1/2021

PPBE Process