WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Dave McCormick and Jacky Rosen have introduced bipartisan legislation directing the Pentagon to study allied command-and-control systems for drones and other unmanned platforms as lawmakers push to accelerate the military’s adoption of emerging technologies without additional spending.
The Unmanned Systems Command and Control Act would require the Department of Defense to examine open-architecture systems used by allied nations, including Ukraine’s Delta system and Israel’s multi-drone operating platform, and determine whether similar frameworks could improve the U.S. military’s ability to coordinate unmanned systems across multiple domains.
The proposal comes as the rapid expansion of drones in modern warfare has exposed challenges in managing large numbers of unmanned aircraft and processing battlefield data in real time.
“Modern warfare has shown that unmanned aircraft systems now operate in huge numbers, forcing commanders to track countless moving pieces across vast areas in real time,” McCormick said in a statement. “America’s allies have built systems to do exactly this, while America’s own efforts trail behind.”
The legislation would create a panel of 10 to 15 experts in drone operations, cybersecurity and command-and-control systems to evaluate proven allied technologies and develop recommendations for the Pentagon.
The bill also would require preliminary findings to be submitted to congressional defense committees, a final report within one year, and annual updates for five years. Any recommended systems would have to address cybersecurity requirements, supply-chain risks and interoperability with existing Defense Department systems.
Rosen said the measure is intended to help the United States remain competitive as the use of unmanned systems expands globally.
“This bipartisan bill will enable the U.S. to learn from our allies to remain at the forefront of military and technological innovation,” she said in a statement.
The proposal specifies that funding would come from existing Defense Department research and development accounts and would not authorize new spending.
McCormick has also introduced separate legislation, the Unmanned Autonomous Systems Strategy Act, which would require the Defense Department to develop a broader strategy for deploying and scaling unmanned and autonomous systems across the Indo-Pacific and Western Hemisphere.
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