National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026

This comprehensive bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, authorizes appropriations for military activities of the Department of Defense, military construction, and defense activities of the Department of Energy. It also sets military personnel strengths for the fiscal year and addresses numerous other purposes related to national security. The Act is organized into ten divisions covering various aspects of defense policy and funding.

Division A, focusing on Department of Defense Authorizations, includes significant provisions for procurement, such as authorizing contracts for Columbia-class submarines and Medium Landing Ships, while also placing limitations on certain Navy unmanned surface vessels and Air Force aircraft retirements. It mandates strategies for Army tactical wheeled vehicles and Air Force bomber aircraft, and requires accountability matrices for the B-21 bomber program. The bill also introduces new requirements for an Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roadmap.

In Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E), the bill modifies defense research capacity building programs, establishes dual-use and defense advanced manufacturing innovation hubs, and prohibits contracts between certain foreign entities and higher education institutions conducting DoD-funded research. It also mandates a program for advanced robotic automation in munitions manufacturing and extends authority for private sector personnel assignments to DARPA. New biotechnology initiatives include establishing a Biotechnology Management Office and defining guidelines for its use in the Armed Forces.

For Operation and Maintenance (O&M), the bill addresses environmental concerns by updating NEPA guidelines, modifying PFAS destruction authorities, and requiring bottled water provision for contaminated communities. It mandates improvements in surface ship sustainment and readiness, delegates contested logistics mitigation to USTRANSCOM, and integrates commercially available AI into logistics operations. A pilot program for arsenal workload sustainment is also established, alongside a prohibition on closing Army organic industrial base sites.

Military Personnel provisions authorize end strengths for active and reserve forces, modify officer personnel policies, and address reserve component management. It includes measures to enhance efficiency in disability evaluations, expand military service academy nominations, and prohibit consideration of race, sex, or religion in admissions. Family readiness is supported through assistance to local educational agencies, improved child care options, and legal assistance for guardianship transfers.

Healthcare provisions expand TRICARE eligibility for hearing aids and fertility treatments, while restricting the performance of sex change surgeries. It codifies the Director of the Defense Health Agency position and establishes policies for priority assignment of medical personnel. The bill also mandates a pilot program for wastewater surveillance and improves care availability for veterans from DoD facilities.

Acquisition Policy and Management reforms include transitioning the Program Executive Officer role to Portfolio Acquisition Executive, modifying acquisition strategies, and enhancing modular open systems approaches. It introduces an alternative test and evaluation pathway for defense acquisition programs and grants combatant commands experimentation authority. Provisions also address nontraditional defense contractors, financing costs, and supply chain resilience.

Department of Defense Organization and Management establishes an Economic Defense Unit, modifies the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, and eliminates statutory provisions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It also transfers responsibility for countering small unmanned aircraft systems to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

Division B (Military Construction) authorizes numerous construction projects and family housing initiatives for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Defense Agencies, including extensions of prior year authorizations. It also includes provisions for NATO Security Investment Program contributions and host country in-kind contributions.

Division C (Department of Energy National Security Authorizations) authorizes funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), defense environmental cleanup, and other defense activities. It codifies provisions of law relating to atomic energy defense activities, adjusts plutonium pit production capacity, and establishes a National Nuclear Security Administration Rapid Capabilities Development Office.

Other significant provisions include the FIGHT China Act of 2025 (Title XVII), which imposes sanctions and investment prohibitions related to covered foreign persons and technologies from China. It also includes the FISH Act of 2025 (Subtitle I of Title X) to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and the Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity Act (Subtitle F of Title XII) to promote democratic and economic development in the region.