Strategic Unmanned Systems Partnership Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9550 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9550

   To establish a United States-Ukraine Strategic Defense Innovation
                 Working Group, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 30, 2026

Ms. Kaptur (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Quigley, Mr. McCaul, Mr.
Costa, and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; which was referred
 to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee
 on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To establish a United States-Ukraine Strategic Defense Innovation
                 Working Group, 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 ``Strategic Unmanned Systems
Partnership Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    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.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF STRATEGIC DEFENSE INNOVATION WORKING GROUP.

    (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.

SEC. 4. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

    (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.

SEC. 5. PRIORITIZATION OF UKRAINE-DESIGNED COVERED SYSTEMS.

    (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.

SEC. 6. REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.

    (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.

SEC. 7. TERMINATION.

    (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.
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