Sponsors (10)
The bill lets a nonprofit museum obtain historic F-14D aircraft at no purchase cost to preserve and display them, but it shifts restoration, maintenance, compliance, safety, and legal risks and costs onto the recipient and local partners under strict transfer conditions.
Nonprofit museums and affiliated schools/local governments can receive three historic F-14D Tomcats (plus excess Navy manuals and spare parts) at no purchase cost, enabling public display, heritage preservation, and lowering some restoration expenses.
Qualified nonprofit partnerships are allowed to assist with restoration and display, expanding volunteer/expert involvement and local community participation in preserving naval aviation history.
The recipient commission (and its local partners) must pay all conveyance, compliance, operation, and maintenance costs, which can significantly strain nonprofit and local-government budgets.
Aircraft are transferred 'as-is' with no Navy repair obligation, so the recipient and the public may face unexpected restoration expenses and safety hazards during restoration, operation, or display.
The conveyance includes strict conditions (demilitarization, export/control laws, FAA compliance, reversion clauses) that constrain the recipient's ability to transfer or modify the aircraft and create an ongoing compliance burden.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows the Navy to transfer three specific F‑14D aircraft at no cost to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Commission for public display, subject to demilitarization and legal/export controls.
Introduced April 16, 2026 by Abraham J. Hamadeh · Last progress April 16, 2026
Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to convey three specific F‑14D Tomcat aircraft to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Commission in Huntsville, Alabama by conditional deed of gift at no cost to the United States. The recipient must pay all conveyance, compliance, operation, and maintenance costs; the aircraft may be accepted "as‑is," but the Navy may provide manuals, spare parts, or permit restoration agreements with qualified nonprofit organizations. Transfers must include conditions such as demilitarization/removal of combat capability, limits on use to public display/airshows/commemorative events that preserve naval aviation heritage, FAA compliance, reversion to the United States for unauthorized transfers or violations, indemnification and other protections, and continued applicability of U.S. export, criminal, and sanctions laws (e.g., Arms Export Control Act, ITAR, EAR, OFAC). After conveyance, the United States is not liable for death, injury, loss, or damage resulting from non‑U.S. use of the aircraft.