U.S. Marine Corps photograph by Lance Cpl. Christopher Mendoza/Released
The U.S, Senate published their version of the National Defense Authorization Act 2025 (S. 4638, NDAA FY25) on July 8, 2024. The NDAA is “must pass” legislation, establishing funding for US military agencies: among the broader issues at stake in the current Act are pay raises and healthcare provisions for US military families. The NDAA is also a critical piece of legislation for the drone industry, directing funding and focus for the development and use of both military and dual-use drone technology. This year, the House version of the Act includes the Countering CCP Drones Act, which could limit the use of Chinese-manufactured drone technology.
What’s in the Senate Version of the NDAA FY25?
While S.4638 goes as far as to limit the purchase of garlic or seafood grown in China to feed our troops, Chinese tutoring services, computers and printers manufactured in China, and expenditure on entertainment linked to China, it does not include the Countering CCP Drones Act.
The Act does, however, have many provisions related to drone and counter-UAS technology. Rather than include the Countering CCP Drones Act, the Executive Summary of S. 4638 devotes a section to “Developing American UAS Capabilities.” From the Summary, S. 4638:
- Directs a report on the Army’s current small UAS funding model and a proposal for the consolidation of funding lines to improve fiscal agility in the portfolio.
- Authorizes increased funding for the development of new and innovative design, manufacturing, and production techniques for low-cost attritable, uncrewed systems, as well as the development of distributed artificial intelligence fusion for such systems.
- Requires a strategy to develop a secure domestic and allied supply chain of critical components for small UAS.
Focus on C-UAS Technology
With a strong recognition that modern battlefields rely heavily upon sUAS, the Senate version of the NDAA FY25 has a heavy emphasis on the development of counter drone technology, currently strictly limited in use. From the Summary:
Advancing Counter-UAS Technologies
- Requires the establishment of a counter-uncrewed aircraft system (c-UAS) task force to review guidance relating to c-UAS activities.
- Requires a strategy for countering drone technologies, referring drone offenses for investigation and prosecution, and assessing resources or authorities necessary for drone incursion response.
- Directs the Army, Navy, and Air Force to provide briefings on respective service plans for counter-UAS capabilities.
- Directs a report on all recommendations, findings, and results from DOD’s counter-UAS Cross Functional Team, including efforts relating to airspace data feed accessibility.
- Authorizes increased funding for counter-UAS research and testing between the Army and university-based partners.
- Requires a full-scale counter-UAS exercise in DOD’s special use airspace, and a briefing on the outcomes and lessons learned from the exercise.
- Directs a briefing on the acquisition of military grade UAS by foreign terrorist organizations.
- Requires the Army to certify at least one additional interceptor and production manufacturer for the M-LIDS/FS-LIDS counter-UAS system.
- Authorizes increased funding for various combatant commands’ counter-UAS activities.
- Requires the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office to provide a liaison to the Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Task Force to improve coordination in areas of shared responsibility.
What Happens Next?
The current version of the NDAA FY 25 has been approved by the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. Now, the bill will go to the Senate floor for debate, and amendments may be added. The bill will then go to vote by the full Senate.
If differences between the House version and the Senate version remain, a conference committee will be formed consisting of members from both the Senate and House Committees on Armed Services. The conference committee will work to reconcile differences between the two versions and produce a conference report. The conference report is then sent back to both the Senate and the House for final approval. Both chambers must approve the reconciled version of the bill.
Presidential Veto Possible
Once both the Senate and the House pass the final version of the NDAA, it is sent to the President for signature: the President can either sign the bill into law or veto it. This has significance this year, as the White House has said that the president would veto the current House version of the bill due to so-called “culture war issues” unrelated to the drone industry. Read the White House statement here.
If the President vetoes the bill, Congress can attempt to override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.
Read more:
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
TWITTER:@spaldingbarker
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