Wednesday, September 16, 2026Independent tracking of the National Defense Authorization Act

The hub for the National Defense Authorization Act — status, history, and analysis

FY2027 NDAA

Title II — RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION

TL;DR

Title II of the FY2027 NDAA (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION) contains 34 sections. Open any section for a TL;DR, the statutory text, and linked funding tables.

34 sections · 0 funding tables

Sec. 201
Authorization of appropriations

Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2027 for the use of the Department of Defense for research, development, test, and evaluation…

Sec. 211
Budget review and certification for certain categories of research and development

Section 133a of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1)in subsection (b)—(A)in paragraph (4), by striking and at the end;(B)in paragraph (5), by striking…

cyber
Sec. 212
Deputy Directors of Operational Test and Evaluation

Section 139 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1)by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (m); and(2)by inserting after subsection (k) the…

cyber
Sec. 213
Repeal of pilot authority for use of other transactions for installation or facility prototyping

Section 4022 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (i).

ota, cyber
Sec. 214
Modifications to responsibilities of the Defense Innovation Unit

Section 4127(d) of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1)by redesignating paragraph (11) as paragraph (12); and(2)by inserting after paragraph (10) the…

acquisition-reform, space-force, cyber
Sec. 215
Test and evaluation repository and regional test hubs of the Test Resource Management Center

Section 4173 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1)in subsection (c)(1) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:(G)To carry out the…

cyber
Sec. 216
Weapon system platform modernization and cyber hardening

Section 228 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119—60; 139 Stat. 786; 10 U.S.C. 4001 note) is amended—(1)in subsection…

right-to-repair, cyber
Sec. 217
Repeal of requirement for Secretary of Defense to act through a specified official for NATO innovation program

Repeal of requirement to act through specified officialSubsections (a) and (b) of section 222 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024…

acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 218
Modification to test program for engineering plant of certain vessels

Section 221 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117—81; 135 Stat. 1599) is amended—(1)in the section heading, by…

destroyer, cyber
Sec. 219
United States–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative

The Secretary of Defense shall designate an executive agent, as such term is defined in Department of Defense Directive 5101.01 (relating to DoD Executive…

acquisition-reform, space-force, cyber
Sec. 220
Establishment of synthetic training environment to support Indo-Pacific operations

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Commander of the United States…

acquisition-reform, space-force, taiwan, cyber
Sec. 221
Requirement to establish test and training corridors for small unmanned aircraft systems and associated capabilities

The Secretary of Defense shall establish or designate, and operate, one or more test and training corridors for small unmanned aircraft systems…

acquisition-reform, space-force, cyber
Sec. 222
Operational autonomy requirements for unmanned surface vessels

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy shall take such actions as may be necessary, including…

acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 223
Realignment of the National Strategic Research Institute to the Department of the Air Force

Not later than two years after the date of the enactment this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering shall—(1)designate the Air…

acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 224
Reimbursement of National Guard for research, development, test, and evaluation expenses

Amounts authorized to be appropriated after the date of the enactment of this Act for the Department of Defense for research, development, test, and…

cyber
Sec. 225
Use of innovative and emerging food production technologies for components of military rations

It is the sense of Congress that requirements for the future battlefield include dealing with contested logistics that—(1)cannot be achieved with the size and…

ota, acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 226
Support for advanced technologies that strengthen United States agricultural production, agrifood systems, and associated bioindustrial manufacturing capacity

The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, may carry out activities to support the…

cyber
Sec. 227
Prize competitions to support the research and development of biotechnology for the Department of Defense

Program required(1)In generalPursuant to the authority provided under section 4025 of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of Defense shall carry out a…

acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 228
Pilot program to recognize outstanding achievements in technology and prototype development

The Director of the Defense Innovation Unit (referred to in this section as the Director) shall carry out a pilot program under which the Director awards…

ota, acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 229
Pilot program on forward deployable biomanufacturing capabilities

The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in coordination with the Secretary of the Army, may carry out a pilot program—(1)to identify…

cyber
Sec. 230
Pilot program on the use of automated data security posture management technologies for artificial intelligence systems

Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall establish and commence implementation of a pilot program…

cyber
Sec. 231
Pilot program on technologies to strengthen authentication and attribution of human authorization for consequential actions

The Secretary of Defense may carry out a pilot program to evaluate commercially available technologies that strengthen authentication and attribution of human…

cyber
Sec. 232
Cloud laboratory pilot program

Cloud laboratory pilot program(1)Program required(A)In generalThe Secretary of Defense shall carry out a pilot program to support the establishment of cloud…

acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 233
Pilot program to test and evaluate muzzle blast overpressure mitigation devices

The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall carry out a pilot program to evaluate, test, and implement…

acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 234
Space technology demonstration of advanced nuclear propulsion technologies

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Air Force, acting through the Commander of the Air Force Research…

ota, acquisition-reform, space-force, cyber
Sec. 235
Prohibition on pilot trainees operating T–7 aircraft pending testing and corrective actions

A pilot trainee may not operate a T—7 aircraft of the Air Force until the Secretary of the Air Force certifies to the Committees on Armed Services of the…

cyber
Sec. 236
Prohibition on availability of funds for gain of function research

None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2027 for the Department of Defense may be obligated or…

cyber
Sec. 237
Prohibition on availability of funds for animal research in collaboration with foreign countries of concern

None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2027 for the Department of Defense may be obligated or…

cyber
Sec. 251
Policy to guide the development and acquisition of quantum computing systems for the Department of Defense

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall issue a policy to guide the development and acquisition of…

acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 252
Plan for competitive experimentation relating to autonomous and nontraditional capabilities relevant to the A–10 mission set

The Secretary of the Air Force shall develop a plan to carry out competitive experimentation, prototyping, and operational assessment of autonomous…

cyber
Sec. 253
Plan for establishment and evaluation of experimental, drone-centric reconnaissance and security formations

The Secretary of the Army shall develop a plan for establishing and evaluating one or more experimental, battalion-sized formations that integrate unmanned…

acquisition-reform, cyber
Sec. 254
Plan for use of certain aircraft for research and development purposes

The Secretary of the Air Force shall develop a plan to regenerate, restore, modify, and use a limited number of covered aircraft for research, development…

acquisition-reform, space-force, cyber
Sec. 255
Sonobuoy modernization, testing, and inventory sufficiency for two simultaneous regional conflicts

Strategy and inventory requirement(1)In generalNot later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy shall develop and…

foci, ota, acquisition-reform, right-to-repair, destroyer, taiwan, cyber
Sec. 256
Review and implementation of strategies to accelerate the qualification process for domestically produced advanced energetic materials

Acceleration of formulation-to-system qualification for advanced energetic materials(1)Review and implementationThe Secretary of Defense, acting through the…

ota, acquisition-reform, cyber

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