Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is

proposing legislation that would make defense contractors give

the U.S. military a "right to repair" its equipment, and require

the Department of Defense to include cost-saving measures in

plans to buy new weapons.

Proposed amid a cost-cutting push by President-elect Donald

Trump, Warren's bill would make contractors give the military

"fair and reasonable access" to parts, tools and repair

instructions.

Currently, the government is often required to pay

contractors like Lockheed Martin Corp ( LMT ), Boeing Co ( BA ),

RTX Corp ( RTX ) to use expensive original equipment and

installers to service broken parts versus having trained

military maintainers 3D print spares in the field and install

them faster and cheaper.

"Pentagon contractors are taking advantage of our military,

forcing them to pay excessive prices and wait weeks for basic

equipment repairs. Without the right to repair their own

equipment, our servicemembers in the field are at risk," said

Warren, a Democrat who represents Massachusetts.

In one instance, U.S. Marines in Japan had to ship engines

back to the U.S. for repairs, and in another, the Navy had to

fly contractors out to ships at sea to perform simple repairs,

according to Warren's office.

Warren previously sought right to repair language in the

Senate's 2025 proposed defense spending package. The new bill

adds requirements for the DOD to publicly report on cost-saving

strategies and incidents where the military is forced to use a

contractor to make repairs, and for the Government

Accountability Office to review compliance every two years.

U.S. Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat from

Washington state, is sponsoring a companion bill in the U.S.

House of Representatives. Keeping repair work contractually

limited to companies keeps members of the military from learning

crucial skills, she said.

"Military technicians want to be working with their hands

to fix things - not getting stuck on the phone on hold with a

manufacturer," she said.