09 dec. 2024 - Af Kylie Bielby

What’s in the final text of the US defence authorisation act for C-UAS?

The United States House and Senate Armed Services Committees have released the final text for the US fiscal 2025 defence authorisation act (NDAA), which contains numerous provisions for countering uncrewed aerial systems.

As we previously reported, the bill requires the formation of a C-UAS task force to review guidance relating to counter drone activities. The NDAA states: “The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acting through the C-UAS Task Force, shall review and, if necessary, consolidate and update all Department of Defense memoranda and directives related to the countering of unmanned aircraft systems in United States airspace to provide clarity to and an expedited decision-making process for commanders with respect to effectively countering unmanned aircraft systems or unmanned aircraft incursions at military installations in the United States.” 

The NDAA states that the Director of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office of the Department of Defense shall designate one or more employees of the Office to act as a liaison with the Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems Task Force to improve coordination of efforts and support enabling capabilities of mutual benefit. 

The act also calls for large-scale exercise in the DoD’s special use airspace to test the department’s ability to respond to a variety of UAS threats to its installations. “The exercise shall include the following: The participation of not fewer than three commanders of installations of the department, a mix of high-end non-emitting threats and low-end commercially available unmanned aerial systems; installations with a range of capabilities and equipment relating to countering unmanned aerial systems; no-notice simulations; rules of engagement that reflect the strategy of the department for executing existing authorities for countering unmanned aerial systems; and the participation of other relevant federal agencies.”

The NDAA states that the Secretary of Defense should provide a briefing on the outcomes and lessons learned from this large-scale exercise to the congressional defence committees no later than March 1, 2026.

In addition, the NDAA requires the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office to establish and maintain a threat library, or expand and maintain an existing threat library, to coordinate efforts across the DoD to counter UAS. According to the text of the document, the threat library shall include classified and unclassified information relating to known or suspected threats from UAS; proposed solutions for countering such known threats; and a comprehensive listing of global incursions from UAS at DoD installations. The Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office is also required to establish a framework to share the information contained in the threat library required with the military departments, the combatant commands, other federal agencies, and relevant industries, as determined by the Secretary of the Army, in order to maintain technological superiority in aerial defence.

A further section of the NDAA is devoted to responding to UAS incursions and calls for DoD to develop a strategy for countering UAS. “The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall conduct an assessment of countering UAS technology; the threats such technology poses to facilities, personnel, and assets of the Department of Defense in the United States; and the existing counter UAS enterprise of the Department.

“Not later than June 1, 2025, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the assessment. Such report shall include the findings of the assessment; a compilation of any recommended changes to the countering UAS technology of the Department, including adjustments in the allocation of resources, in law, policy, or any other authorities; recommendations for requirements for the Department of Defense to pre-coordinate planned actions in response to anticipated types of UAS incursions with other relevant federal departments and agencies; and such other matters as the Secretary determines appropriate.”

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