Determination of lead organization responsible for approval and validation of certain unmanned aircraft systems and components

(a) Determination required The Secretary of Defense shall determine— (1) whether the Defense Innovation Unit should continue to be the organization within the Department of Defense with primary responsibility for the execution of the Blue UAS Cleared List and the Blue UAS Framework (collectively referred to in this section as the Blue UAS Initiatives); or (2) whether another organization within the Department should assume primary responsibility for executing the Blue UAS Initiatives. (b) Additional requirements In making the determination required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall— (1) conduct a thorough analysis of the Blue UAS Initiatives as executed by the Defense Innovation Unit at the time of the determination; (2) assess whether the Unit, as of the time of the determination, has adequate resources and capabilities (including personnel, funding, and authorities) to effectively scale and execute the Initiatives across the Department of Defense; and (3) identify one or more other organizations within the Department of Defense that could more effectively scale and execute the Initiatives across the Department. (c) Report Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that includes— (1) the Secretary’s final determination under subsection (a); (2) (A) in the event the Secretary determines that the Defense Innovation Unit should continue to have primary responsibility for the Blue UAS Initiatives as described in subsection (a)(1), a strategy for providing the Unit with any additional resources (including funding, personnel, and authorities) needed for the Unit to effectively execute and scale the Initiatives across the Department of Defense; or (B) in the event the Secretary determines that another organization within the Department should assume primary responsibility administering and executing the Initiatives as described in subsection (a)(2), a plan with milestones for transferring the Initiatives (including all associated funding, personnel, and authorities) from the Unit to such other organization; and (3) a strategy for decreasing unit costs for platforms under the Initiatives, including— (A) benchmarks to assess progress in reducing the cost of secure unmanned aircraft system end products; and (B) a timeline for meeting such cost reduction goals. (d) Implementation Following the submittal of the report required under subsection (c), the Secretary of Defense shall commence implementation of the resourcing strategy described in subsection (c)(2)(A) or the transfer plan described in subsection (c)(2)(B) (as the case may be). (e) Definitions In this section: (1) The term Blue UAS Cleared List means the initiative executed by the Defense Innovation Unit (as of the date of the enactment of this Act) pursuant to which the Unit maintains a list of approved small unmanned aircraft systems that— (A) are validated as cyber-secure and safe to fly; and (B) comply with applicable requirements of— (i) section 848 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 10 U.S.C. 4871 note); (ii) section 817(b) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263; 10 U.S.C. 4871 note); and (iii) the American Security Drone Act of 2023 (subtitle B of title XVIII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118–31; 41 U.S.C. note prec. 3901)). (2) The term Blue UAS Framework means the initiative executed by the Defense Innovation Unit (as of the date of the enactment of this Act) pursuant to which the Unit validates unmanned aircraft system components, subcomponents, modules, and software for use by the Department of Defense.

(a) Determination required The Secretary of Defense shall determine— (1) whether the Defense Innovation Unit should continue to be the organization within the Department of Defense with primary responsibility for the execution of the Blue UAS Cleared List and the Blue UAS Framework (collectively referred to in this section as the Blue UAS Initiatives); or (2) whether another organization within the Department should assume primary responsibility for executing the Blue UAS Initiatives. (b) Additional requirements In making the determination required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall— (1) conduct a thorough analysis of the Blue UAS Initiatives as executed by the Defense Innovation Unit at the time of the determination; (2) assess whether the Unit, as of the time of the determination, has adequate resources and capabilities (including personnel, funding, and authorities) to effectively scale and execute the Initiatives across the Department of Defense; and (3) identify one or more other organizations within the Department of Defense that could more effectively scale and execute the Initiatives across the Department. (c) Report Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that includes— (1) the Secretary’s final determination under subsection (a); (2) (A) in the event the Secretary determines that the Defense Innovation Unit should continue to have primary responsibility for the Blue UAS Initiatives as described in subsection (a)(1), a strategy for providing the Unit with any additional resources (including funding, personnel, and authorities) needed for the Unit to effectively execute and scale the Initiatives across the Department of Defense; or (B) in the event the Secretary determines that another organization within the Department should assume primary responsibility administering and executing the Initiatives as described in subsection (a)(2), a plan with milestones for transferring the Initiatives (including all associated funding, personnel, and authorities) from the Unit to such other organization; and (3) a strategy for decreasing unit costs for platforms under the Initiatives, including— (A) benchmarks to assess progress in reducing the cost of secure unmanned aircraft system end products; and (B) a timeline for meeting such cost reduction goals. (d) Implementation Following the submittal of the report required under subsection (c), the Secretary of Defense shall commence implementation of the resourcing strategy described in subsection (c)(2)(A) or the transfer plan described in subsection (c)(2)(B) (as the case may be). (e) Definitions In this section: (1) The term Blue UAS Cleared List means the initiative executed by the Defense Innovation Unit (as of the date of the enactment of this Act) pursuant to which the Unit maintains a list of approved small unmanned aircraft systems that— (A) are validated as cyber-secure and safe to fly; and (B) comply with applicable requirements of— (i) section 848 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 10 U.S.C. 4871 note); (ii) section 817(b) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263; 10 U.S.C. 4871 note); and (iii) the American Security Drone Act of 2023 (subtitle B of title XVIII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118–31; 41 U.S.C. note prec. 3901)). (2) The term Blue UAS Framework means the initiative executed by the Defense Innovation Unit (as of the date of the enactment of this Act) pursuant to which the Unit validates unmanned aircraft system components, subcomponents, modules, and software for use by the Department of Defense.