Sponsors (6)
The bill would substantially improve military testing and readiness for emerging UAS, counter‑UAS, and directed‑energy capabilities by creating realistic domestic test corridors, but it raises safety, civil‑liberties, budgetary, and regulatory risks for civilian communities and taxpayers.
Service members and DoD researchers will get dedicated test ranges and simulated denied/degraded environments (GPS, spectrum, comms) to train and evaluate sUAS, counter‑UAS, directed energy, and EW systems, improving readiness and producing more resilient systems for contested operations.
Defense developers and procurement programs can integrate and standardize payloads more quickly, potentially shortening development and procurement timelines for new drone capabilities.
Using existing DoD facilities or authorizing construction for the corridors can concentrate investment locally and create jobs in host communities.
Testing electronic warfare, GPS jamming/spoofing, and directed energy in domestic airspace could interfere with civilian aircraft navigation and communications, posing safety and interference risks for nearby communities and aviation users.
Constructing and operating corridors, plus staffing and specialized facilities, will increase DoD spending and could raise taxpayer costs or divert funds from other programs.
Domestic testing of kinetic or lethal UAS munitions may alarm local communities and civil‑liberties advocates about safety, escalation of weaponization, and acceptable uses of drones on U.S. soil.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Secretary of Defense to establish one or more sUAS test-and-training corridors and plan facilities, resources, and interagency coordination for testing and training.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish test and training corridors for small unmanned aircraft systems and associated capabilities, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 23, 2026 by Ronny Jackson · Last progress July 23, 2026
Requires the Secretary of Defense to establish or designate and operate one or more test-and-training corridors in the national airspace system for small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), counter-sUAS platforms, and associated capabilities. Directs the Department of Defense to identify locations, assess existing facilities, specify required resources (including construction and personnel), plan for sensors and environments that simulate denied/degraded communications/spectrum/GPS, and coordinate with other agencies to resolve legal, regulatory, and safety impediments. Directs DoD to permit use or construction of DoD facilities to support corridors, to carry out research, development, testing, evaluation, and training (including autonomy, directed energy, electronic warfare, and kinetic/non-kinetic countercapabilities), and to notify congressional defense committees within 90 days after establishing or designating a corridor with location, required funding/personnel/resources, and any needed interagency agreements.