Coordination with existing Department of Defense programs

(a) Required coordination In conducting the assessment required under section 2, the Secretary shall ensure that the unmanned system command and control framework under consideration is assessed for compatibility with all current Department command and control modernization programs of record, as designated by the Secretary at the time of the assessment. The Secretary shall update this assessment as the portfolio of such programs evolves, ensuring that recommendations remain current with the Department’s command and control modernization activities regardless of changes in program names, structures, or priorities. (b) Avoidance of duplication In developing recommendations under section 2, the Secretary shall assess whether existing programs of record identified under subsection (a) can be extended or adapted to provide the unmanned system command and control capability described in this Act without developing a wholly new system and shall include in the final report a determination as to whether such extension or adaptation is technically feasible and operationally preferable. (c) Domestic unmanned aircraft systems industrial base compatibility The Secretary shall ensure that the assessment and any recommended framework account for the domestic small unmanned aircraft systems industrial base remediation efforts undertaken pursuant to section 914 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (10 U.S.C. 4811 note), including ensuring that unmanned aircraft systems platforms produced through those programs are compatible with any recommended command and control framework.