Strategic Unmanned Systems Partnership Act

This Act may be cited as the “Strategic Unmanned Systems Partnership Act”.

In this section:

(1) Congressional defense committees.— The term congressional defense committees has the meaning give such term in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.

(2) Covered system.— The term covered system means—

(A) an unmanned system that—

(i) is designed for a limited number of missions;

(ii) is expendable in high-threat environments; and

(iii) is characterized by a low per-unit cost, relative to the value of the targets the unmanned system is designed to engage; and

(B) includes—

(i) the enabling software and hardware of such an unmanned system;

(ii) unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned underwater vehicles, and unmanned surface vehicles;

(iii) capabilities to counter unmanned systems, including early warning systems, jamming systems, and interceptors; and

(iv) command and control architecture, including software and hardware, to enable the integrated, secure, and resilient operation of unmanned systems and capabilities to counter unmanned systems.

(3) Secretary.— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Defense.

(4) Working Group.— The term Working Group means the Strategic Defense Innovation Working Group established under section 3.

(a) Establishment.— Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall seek to engage with relevant stakeholders in Ukraine to establish a Strategic Defense Innovation Working Group to explore—

(1) pathways for the co-development, co-production, acquisition, and transfer of covered systems; and

(2) the development of related mutual technology transfer frameworks.

(b) Composition.— The Working Group shall be co-chaired by the following:

(1) The Under Secretary of Defense.

(2) The Director of the Defense Innovation Unit.

(3) The Director of the Joint Interagency Task Force 401.

(4) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

(5) The Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command.

(c) Other participants.— The Secretary shall seek the participation in the Working Group of representatives of the following:

(1) The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

(2) The military forces of Ukraine.

(3) The Brave1 Defense Tech Cluster.

(4) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Center.

(a) In general.— The co-chairs of the Working Group shall be responsible for engaging with the other participants in the Working Group—

(1) to systematically analyze and apply lessons learned from the methodologies employed by the military forces of Ukraine and the domestic defense industrial base of Ukraine to accelerate the development, production, and fielding of covered systems;

(2) to identify the Ukraine-designed covered systems that—

(A) have demonstrated high operational utility in active combat; and

(B) offer strategic capability enhancements for the United States Armed Forces;

(3) to provide recommendations to expand and improve incorporation of Ukraine-designed covered systems in Blue UAS programs;

(4) to develop defense trade foundational agreements between the United States and Ukraine, including—

(A) a mutual technology transfer framework, which shall include—

(i) mutual data exchange protocols to facilitate the secure sharing of relevant battlefield and military information, such as telemetry data and other electronic warfare signal profiles; and

(ii) joint intellectual property ownership frameworks that—

(I) protect the background intellectual property of all participants; and

(II) facilitate the co-development and co-production of Ukraine-designed covered systems; and

(B) a memorandum of understanding on reciprocal defense procurement; and

(5) to assess the feasibility of testing United States-manufactured covered systems in Ukraine, including by deploying United States-manufactured covered systems to operational units of Ukraine for evaluation in active combat scenarios.

(b) Meetings.— The Working Group shall convene not less frequently than once every 120 days, with meeting frequency determined by the co-chairs, in consultation with the other participants in the Working Groups.

(a) In general.— The co-chairs of the Working Group shall prioritize the Ukraine-designed covered systems identified under section 4(a)(2) for co-development, co-production, and acquisition, including by—

(1) analyzing the extent to which Ukraine-designed covered systems meet existing statutory requirements with respect to fielding;

(2) identifying authorities that may be used to accelerate the establishment and approval of joint ventures, cooperative production agreements, or licensed production agreements involving the Department of Defense and the military forces of Ukraine;

(3) identifying authorities that may be used to accelerate traditional procurement pathways for Ukraine-designed covered systems;

(4) conducting a detailed supply chain assessment of the components and inputs that would be used in the co-production of Ukraine-designed covered systems;

(5) identifying the costs associated with co-developing and co-producing Ukraine-designed covered systems in the United States; and

(6) identifying the steps necessary in order to produce Ukraine-designed covered systems at scale in the United States, including a description of opportunities to leverage civilian manufacturing expertise and infrastructure to address production bottlenecks.

(b) Remediation pathway.— With respect to Ukraine-designed covered systems identified under section 4(a)(2) that do not meet existing statutory requirements with respect to fielding, the Working Group shall explore alternative pathways for the fielding of such covered systems, including through—

(1) SkyFoundry;

(2) the UAS Marketplace; and

(3) Drone Dominance.

(a) Initial strategy and action plan.— Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall provide the congressional defense committees with a briefing on the initial strategy for the co-development, co-production, and acquisition of Ukraine-designed covered systems.

(b) Semiannual updates.—

(1) In general.— Not later than 180 days after the date on which the briefing required by subsection (a) is provided, and every 180 days thereafter until the date on which the Working Group terminates, the Working Group shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the progress of the Working Group.

(2) Elements.— Each report required by paragraph (1) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, include, for the preceding 180-day period, the following:

(A) A list of Ukraine-designed covered systems identified for prioritization, including the current status of such covered systems with respect to technical and legal evaluation, certification, and integration with existing United States force posture and operational needs.

(B) A detailed list of specific fast-track acquisition or waiver authorities that may be used to accelerate the co-development, co-production, or acquisition of Ukraine-designed covered systems.

(C) A supply chain analysis of the sourcing of inputs and component parts to eliminate dependence on countries of concern, such as the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, Iran, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

(D) A comprehensive framework to facilitate the transition of prioritized Ukraine-designed covered systems from identification to co-development and co-production at scale, including an assessment of the feasibility of using of the following for such purpose:

(i) Joint ventures.

(ii) Cooperative production agreements.

(iii) Licensed production agreements.

(E) A detailed description of intellectual property ownership frameworks that could be used to facilitate the co-development and co-production of prioritized Ukraine-designed covered systems.

(F) A description of specific regulatory, legal, or policy barriers that hinder the establishment of joint ventures, cooperative production agreements, or licensed production agreements.

(G) A description of regulatory, export-control, and certification barriers that impede the acquisition of Ukraine-designed covered systems.

(3) Form.— Each report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in an unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

(a) In general.— Subject to subsection (b), the Working Group shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) One-Year extension.— The Working Group may continue in effect until the date that is six year after the date of the enactment of this Act if the Secretary—

(1) determines that a one-year extension is vital to national security; and

(2) submits to the congressional defense committees a written justification for such an extension.