WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator

Elizabeth Warren is escalating pressure on the defense industry

to stop opposing military right-to-repair legislation, as House

and Senate negotiators work to finalize the fiscal 2026 National

Defense Authorization Act.

In a sharply-worded November 5 letter to the National

Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) obtained by Reuters,

Warren accused the industry group of attempting to undermine

bipartisan efforts to give the Pentagon greater ability to

repair weapons and equipment it owns.

She called the group's opposition "a dangerous and misguided

attempt to protect an unacceptable status quo of giant

contractor profiteering."

Currently, the government is often required to pay

contractors like NDIA members Lockheed Martin Boeing

and 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 more cheaply.

The Massachusetts senator's intervention comes as

congressional negotiators reconcile competing versions of the

National Defense Authorization Act, an annual U.S. bill that

sets policies and authorizes funding for the Department of

Defense and national security.

The House and Senate versions contain provisions requiring

defense contractors to provide technical data necessary for

military personnel to repair equipment in the field. Warren's

letter appears aimed at preventing industry lobbying from

weakening or eliminating those provisions during final

negotiations.

"Your organization's attacks are based on unproven

conjectures and self-serving projections," Warren wrote to NDIA

President David Norquist, demanding transparency about which

member companies oppose the reforms and how much they have spent

lobbying against them.

Both House and Senate versions of the defense bill include

language that would save taxpayers billions of dollars while

enhancing military readiness, according to Warren. The

provisions have garnered support from Democrats and Republicans,

the Trump administration, military veterans and more than 300

small businesses.

The Pentagon in April directed the Army to review existing

contracts and ensure future agreements guarantee repair rights,

building on momentum for the reforms.

Warren cited recent Government Accountability Office reports

detailing how contractor restrictions have forced military

maintainers to cannibalize grounded aircraft for parts and wait

weeks for original equipment manufacturers to authorize repairs.

In one example, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll revealed a Black

Hawk helicopter screen control knob that costs $47,000 as part

of a full assembly could be manufactured independently for just

$15.