S. 4930: Unmanned System Command and Control Integration Assessment Act of 2026

This bill would require the Department of Defense to study whether it should build or adopt a more open, modular system for controlling military unmanned systems, such as drones, across different branches and mission areas.

What the Pentagon would have to do

Within 180 days of enactment, the Secretary of Defense would have to begin a comprehensive assessment, working with several Defense Department offices and military organizations. The study would look at whether an open-architecture command-and-control framework could improve how unmanned systems are operated, managed, and connected to other military systems.

What systems and countries would be examined

The assessment would specifically review lessons from:

• Ukraine’s Delta battlefield management and unmanned aircraft coordination system
• Israel’s Multiple Drone Operating System

The bill says the review should examine the design of those systems, how well they work in difficult or contested environments, how they handle cybersecurity, and what lessons may apply to U.S. military operations.

What the study would cover

The required assessment would look at a number of topics, including:

• How the systems are built technically, including software design, data formats, communication protocols, and interface standards
• Whether they use open and modular design principles
• How well one system could manage multiple types of unmanned systems in a single environment
• How well the systems could connect with current and future Pentagon command-and-control modernization efforts
• Cybersecurity, including resistance to jamming, electronic warfare, GPS denial, and cyberattacks
• How the systems could support future technologies such as autonomy, AI-enabled targeting and deconfliction, swarming, and beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations
• How easily field operators could adapt or customize the system without waiting for centralized software updates
• What parts of such a system could remain unclassified, and what parts would need to be classified
• How foreign-developed systems or technology transfer rules might affect adoption
• A possible implementation roadmap, including pilot programs, required resources, and existing programs that could be used or expanded instead of building something entirely new

Advisory panel

The bill would require the Secretary of Defense to create an independent advisory panel within 60 days. The panel would have 10 to 15 members and would include people with:

• Operational experience with unmanned aircraft systems
• Technical expertise in open-architecture and modular software design
• Cybersecurity experience
• Experience from allied or partner countries with major unmanned systems experience
• Experience in UAS traffic management in the National Airspace System

The panel would review the assessment and provide written recommendations. It would end 90 days after the final report is submitted.

Reports to Congress

The bill would require:

• An interim report to congressional defense committees within 180 days
• A final report within one year
• Annual updates for five years after the final report

The final report would have to say whether an open-architecture unmanned systems command-and-control framework is feasible, operationally necessary, and cost-effective. If the answer is yes, the report would include a recommended architecture, a phased implementation plan, and any needed legislative or regulatory changes. The reports would generally be unclassified, though they could include a classified annex if needed. Public versions would have to be posted online.

Cybersecurity rules for any recommended system

If the Defense Department recommends and then develops or buys a system under this bill, that system would have to:

• Use a modular open-systems design so parts can be updated or replaced without redesigning the whole system
• Use supply-chain risk management throughout its lifecycle
• Follow the latest NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 guidance
• Have a vulnerability disclosure process and patching procedures
• Be tested by an NSA-certified red team at least every two years
• Exclude software, hardware, or services from certain covered foreign entities

The bill also requires a recurring review of cybersecurity standards at least every 18 months.

Interaction with other agencies

The bill would require the Pentagon to make sure its study considers compatibility with existing Defense Department command-and-control modernization programs and does not duplicate work unnecessarily. It also says the study should consider how any new framework would fit with the domestic small UAS industrial base.

Federal Aviation Administration coordination

After the final report is submitted, the Secretary of Defense would have to send the FAA an unclassified summary of findings that may be relevant to civil drone traffic management, beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, and integration into the national airspace. The FAA would then have to send its own assessment of the relevance of those findings and what actions it plans to take.

Funding

The bill says the work would be paid for using existing Department of Defense research, development, test, and evaluation funds.

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