[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9909 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9909
To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish test and training
corridors for small unmanned aircraft systems and associated
capabilities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 23, 2026
Mr. Jackson of Texas (for himself, Mr. Messmer, Mr. Guest, Mr.
McCormick, and Mr. McGuire) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish test and training
corridors for small unmanned aircraft systems and associated
capabilities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Operational Test, Evaluation, and Training Corridor Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH TEST AND TRAINING CORRIDORS FOR SMALL
UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED CAPABILITIES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish or
designate, and operate, one or more test and training corridors for
small unmanned aircraft systems, counter-unmanned aircraft system
platforms, and associated capabilities within the national airspace
system.
(b) Facilities.--The Secretary of Defense may construct new
facilities, or use existing facilities available to the Department of
Defense, to support one or more test and training corridors established
or designated under subsection (a) that collectively address each of
the functions described in subsection (c).
(c) Functions.--The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that any test
and training corridor established or designated under subsection (a)
enables the research, development, testing, and evaluation of, and
training for members of the Armed Forces on--
(1) small unmanned aircraft systems and associated autonomy
software, kinetic and nonkinetic payloads, sensors,
communications, and navigation technology;
(2) kinetic and nonkinetic counter small-unmanned aircraft
system capabilities, including high power microwave, high
energy laser, and electronic warfare capabilities, and any
requisite autonomy software, sensors, and command and control
capabilities;
(3) small to medium caliber counter unmanned aircraft
systems ammunition and weapon systems, low collateral damage
weapons and munitions, and drone-versus-drone capabilities;
(4) the acceleration of the integration of modular payloads
onto multiple unmanned aircraft systems and counter unmanned
aircraft systems and platforms;
(5) the reduction in time-to-field for lethal and non-
lethal drone-enabled munitions and munition payload
capabilities; and
(6) standardization of payload-to-platform interfaces.
(d) Site Selection.--In establishing or designating one or more
test and training corridors under subsection (a), the Secretary of
Defense, in coordination with the Director of the Test Resource
Management Center and the Secretaries of the military departments,
shall--
(1) identify potential locations within the national
airspace system that would be conducive to conducting testing,
evaluation, and training activities with respect to small
unmanned aircraft systems and counter-small unmanned aircraft
capabilities, with prioritization of sites that best support
the test and training corridor functions described in
subsection (c);
(2) assess whether existing test and evaluation facilities,
including Government-owned and non-Government owned facilities,
could be used to meet current and future requirements with
respect to such testing, evaluation and training;
(3) identify any additional resources required to establish
or designate, and operate the corridor, including military
construction costs and personnel and manning costs;
(4) identify any sensors and capabilities needed to
adequately simulate operationally realistic environments in the
corridor, including environments with denied or degraded--
(A) communications;
(B) electromagnetic spectrum; and
(C) global positioning system;
(5) identify any interagency, legal, regulatory, or policy
impediments to carrying out testing, evaluation, and training
activities with respect to small unmanned aircraft systems and
counter-small unmanned aircraft capabilities within the
national airspace system, including any impediments to the use
of--
(A) electronic warfare;
(B) directed energy (such as high-powered microwave
and high energy lasers);
(C) GPS jamming and spoofing;
(D) spectrum enabled and cellular-network enabled
systems and capabilities; and
(E) other relevant capabilities;
(6) consult with interagency partners to develop
recommendations for--
(A) addressing any impediments identified under
paragraph (4); and
(B) ensuring the safety of testing and training
activities conducted in the national airspace system;
and
(7) consider diverse geographic regions across the United
States.
(e) Notification to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after
establishing or designating a test and training corridor under
subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
congressional defense committees (as such term is defined in section
101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code) a written notification that
describes--
(1) the location of the corridor;
(2) any funding, personnel, or other resources required to
support the corridor; and
(3) any agreements with other Federal agencies that may be
required to safely operate the corridor in the national
airspace system.
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