The right to repair our devices is a bit of a hot-button issue these days, what with the European Parliament strengthening rules to protect consumer rights, and the odd public spat between major tech manufacturers and repair guide providers. You'd think, however, that the US military would have no trouble ensuring that the equipment it buys from third party manufacturers was able to be repaired and maintained in-house.
Not so, according to a document obtained by 404 media. Multiple manufacturers that currently sell to the US military are lobbying against legislation that would require military contractors to make it easier to repair their equipment, which strikes as something of a bold move when you're talking about standing in the way of the US Government and the most well-funded military in the world.
Senator Elizabeth Warren called for new right to repair legislation in regards to the US military in May of this year, explaining that, under the current system, service members are prevented from maintaining or repairing equipment due to restrictions placed on deals with the government. Section 828 of the Defence Reauthorisation Act was introduced, calling for a requirement for contractors to provide "reasonable access" to repair materials.
Unsurprisingly, outside contractors that serve the US Military would prefer to land lucrative repair contracts, rather than have their products fixed by the military themselves. As a result, ridiculous situations have been known to occur, and Senator Warren was only too keen to give examples.
"Take the Navy's Littoral combat ship. General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin considered much of the data on the ship to be proprietary, so the Navy had to delay missions and spend millions of dollars on travel costs, just so that contractor-affiliated repairmen could fly in, rather than doing this ourselves"
It's a fair point. While we rightly bemoan attempts to block us from repairing things like our phones and laptops, when it comes to military equipment, the stakes can be a whole lot higher, and the costs, potentially gargantuan. That hasn't stopped some from attempting to block the new law, however.
The letter argues that being required to sell repair parts to the military would would "impose significant burdens on contractors throughout the country, including the many small and medium-sized businesses and commercial suppliers that contractors rely on to support the Department’s operational readiness and effectiveness.”
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In the list of signees, among some expected names like the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Defense Industrial Association, lurks some groups that might not be the first thought when we think of military contractors. There's the Textile Care Allied Trades Association, the Motorcycle Industry Council, the Graphic Media Alliance and even Plumbing Manufacturers International.
After all, all those service members need to get their toilets attached to the network somehow, although by the looks of this letter, these companies would prefer that the military didn't get out its own pipe wrenches to fix a leak. Oh, and there's also the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute that advocates for, among other things, companies that produce mowers and garden tractors.
Next time you see a US military facility on TV, pay attention to the lawns outside the head honchos office. If they're looking a little worse for wear, that may be because the government is waiting on an external engineer to replace some mower blades.
