Update to the Department of Defense data strategy and implementation plan

(a) Updated data strategy (1) In general Not later than September 15, 2027, the Secretary of Defense shall, acting through the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer as the Chief Data Officer of the Department of Defense, publish an update to the 2020 Department of Defense Data Strategy (in this section referred to as the Strategy) that serves as the authoritative guiding document for how the Department of Defense hosts, manages, and makes discoverable Department data in support of data sharing and artificial intelligence readiness across the military departments, combatant commands, defense agencies, and the defense intelligence enterprise. (2) Consultation In developing the updated Strategy under paragraph (1), the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer acting in their role as the Chief Data Officer of the Department of Defense shall consult with— (A) the Chief Data Officer of each military department; (B) the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense; (C) the Chief Information Officer of each military department; (D) the Chief Data Officer of the Joint Staff; and (E) the Chief Data Officer of the Director of National Intelligence. (3) Elements The Strategy shall include the following: (A) A framework for data ontologies, including how the Department will define, structure, and govern data relationships to advance data-centric approaches and enable federated and scalable access to and discoverability of Department data, informed by the findings and outputs of the Data Ontology Governance Working Group established under section 1504 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119–60; 10 U.S.C. note prec. 391). (B) An identification of existing Department of Defense applications and program offices supporting data-centric approaches and a plan for how such programs will be leveraged, consolidated, or evolved in furtherance of the Strategy. (C) A plan for ensuring integration with the defense intelligence enterprise for the sharing and exploitation of data in support of national security missions. (D) Requirements for compliance with global, consensus-based data ontology specifications, including standards that treat the absence of a data assertion as unknown rather than false, to ensure that data can be consistently shared, interpreted, and transferred across Department and commercial systems without loss of meaning or context. (E) An approach for ensuring data availability, discoverability, and interoperability across all appropriate classification levels. (F) A plan for streamlining data labeling across the Department, including an evaluation of existing data labeling platforms in use across the Department and the defense intelligence enterprise to assess suitability for enterprise-wide adoption. (b) Implementation plan Not later than December 15, 2027, the Secretary shall, acting through the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer as the Chief Data Officer of the Department of Defense, develop and submit to the congressional defense committees a plan for implementation of the Strategy across the future years defense program. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) The term artificial intelligence has the meaning given in section 238(g) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115–232). (2) The term combatant command has the meaning given that term in section 161(c) of title 10, United States Code. (3) The term data-centric means an environment where data is the primary and permanent asset separated from systems and applications making data available to a broad range of tools and analytics within and across security domains for enrichment and discovery. (4) The term data ontology has the meaning given that term in section 1504(h) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119–60; 10 U.S.C. note prec. 391). (5) The term military department has the meaning given that term in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.