Requires the Deputy Secretary of Defense to establish the Small-UAS Industrial Base Working Group by January 2026 to analyze and enhance the supplier base for small-UAS systems. Directs the Group to assess investments, partnerships, and qualification processes to strengthen the sUAS industrial base.
Analysis summaries, actor details, and coverage mappings were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
This is a binding legislative provision within the National Defense Authorization Act, enacted by the United States Congress with mandatory requirements, specific deadlines, and enforcement through federal appropriations authority.
This document has minimal to no coverage of AI risk domains. It is a defense industrial policy document focused on strengthening the small-UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) supplier base through working groups, investments, and partnerships. While it addresses autonomous systems, it does not explicitly discuss AI risks, harms, or safety concerns from the MIT taxonomy.
This document primarily governs the National Security sector through Department of Defense industrial base policy for small unmanned aircraft systems. It also has significant coverage of the Manufacturing sector (sUAS and component production) and the Scientific Research and Development Services sector (through innovation partnerships and technology incubation).
The document primarily addresses the Plan and Design stage through industrial base analysis and investment planning, and the Deploy stage through qualification processes and production facility arrangements. It does not explicitly cover data collection, model building, or operational monitoring of AI systems themselves, but rather focuses on the industrial capacity to produce autonomous systems.
The document focuses on small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) as autonomous systems but does not explicitly discuss AI models, AI systems, or specific AI technical categories. It addresses autonomous warfare capabilities through the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group but without detailed AI technical specifications.
United States Congress
The document is Section 914 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, which is enacted by the United States Congress as the legislative authority.
Deputy Secretary of Defense; congressional defense committees
The Deputy Secretary of Defense has authority to establish the Working Group and certify programs, while congressional defense committees receive reports and exercise oversight authority.
Small-UAS Industrial Base Working Group; congressional defense committees; Deputy Secretary of Defense
The Working Group is responsible for ongoing monitoring through biannual reports, with congressional defense committees and the Deputy Secretary receiving these reports for oversight.
Deputy Secretary of Defense; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy; Director of the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group; Defense Innovation Unit; service acquisition executive of each military department; Army Materiel Command; United States Special Operations Command; sUAS industrial base entities; manufacturers of complete sUAS systems; suppliers of components for such systems
The document targets Department of Defense officials who must establish and participate in the Working Group, as well as the sUAS industrial base including manufacturers and component suppliers who are the subject of analysis and potential investment.