House/Senate Defense Committees Advance AI Provisions in Must-Pass Defense Bills

On July 9, 2025, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) approved its version of the fiscal year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; S. 2296), authorizing $878.7 billion for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). On July 15, 2025, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) subsequently approved its version of the NDAA (H.R. 3838), authorizing $848.2 billion for DoD.

While the specific AI provisions in the House and Senate bills vary, they share significant overlap in directives related to AI mission planning for missile defense, AI data center infrastructure and management on DoD installations, cybersecurity and governance frameworks for AI and machine learning (ML), and the use of AI for training, readiness and operational support.

The House and Senate must now work to reconcile their separate versions of the NDAA. On September 2, 2025, the Senate NDAA cleared its first procedural hurdle via an 84-14 vote. The chamber must still vote to open debate on the legislation in the coming days. In the House, the Rules Committee is preparing the chamber’s NDAA for floor consideration as soon as next week. Below, please find a collective summary of the AI provisions in the SASC-passed NDAA, as well as the HASC-passed version.

To fund the defense legislation, lawmakers must also pass a separate appropriations bill. On July 18, 2025, the House passed its FY 2026 defense appropriations bill (H.R. 4016) by a vote of 221-209. On July 31, 2025, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 26-3 to advance its FY 2026 defense appropriations bill (S. 2572) to the full Senate. The Senate bill dedicates $851.9 billion to defense programs, a $21.7 billion increase to the President’s budget request, while the FY 2026 House bill provides only $831.5 billion, aligning with President Trump’s plan to keep the annual defense budget static. A comparison to defense appropriations in past years is provided at the end of this alert.

Summary of NDAA AI Provisions

Senate Bill (S. 2296 and Accompanying Committee Report)

• OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE (TITLE III)
  • Integration of Commercially Available AI Capabilities into Logistics Operations (Sec. 328): Would direct DoD to facilitate the integration of commercially available AI capabilities specifically designed for logistics tracking, planning, operations and analytics into two relevant DoD exercises.

• CYBERSPACE-RELATED MATTERS (TITLE XVI)
  • Comprehensive Cyber Workforce Strategy (Sec. 1601): Would require DoD to develop a comprehensive cyber workforce strategy and submit a report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees by January 31, 2027.
  • U.S. Cyber Command AI Industry Collaboration Roadmap (Sec. 1602):
  • Public-Private Cybersecurity Partnership for Highly Capable AI Systems (Sec. 1621): Would direct the Commander and U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) to develop a roadmap for industry and academic collaboration on AI-enabled cyber capabilities for cyberspace operations by August 1, 2026. The roadmap must address: (1) collaborative development lines of effort, (2) industry engagement strategies, (3) contractual mechanisms, (4) security clearance requirements and (5) organizational structure options.
  • Digital Sandbox Environments for AI (Sec. 1622): Would require DoD, acting through the Chief Digital and AI Officer (CDAO) and the Chief Information Officer (CIO), to establish a task force on AI sandbox environments by April 1, 2026.
  • AI Model Assessment and Oversight (Sec. 1623): Would require DoD to establish a cross-functional team for AI model assessment and oversight by June 1, 2026. The team would develop a standardized assessment framework for DoD AI models by June 1, 2027, with identification of functional area leads by January 1, 2027.
  • Department of Defense Ontology Governance Working Group (Sec. 1624): would require DoD to establish an Ontology Governance Working Group to develop and implement a common data ontology and governance structure to improve data interoperability and enable more effective decision-making.
  • Modification of High-Performance Computing Roadmap (Sec. 1625): Would direct DoD to expand the high-performance computing roadmap requirements in section 1532(c) of the FY 2025 NDAA (P.L. 118–159) to include both DoD-owned computing assets and commercially procured cloud services or infrastructure-as-a-service contracts. For any data centers to be built or expanded on military installations, the provision would require comprehensive assessments.
  • Artificial General Intelligence Steering Committee (Sec. 1626): Would establish an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Steering Committee within DoD to analyze AI trajectories and develop DoD adoption strategies.
  • Physical and Cybersecurity Procurement Requirements for AI Systems (Sec. 1627): Would require DoD to develop a comprehensive cybersecurity and physical security framework for AI and ML technologies procured by the Department. The framework must address workforce risks, supply chain vulnerabilities, adversarial tampering, data exposure risks and security management practices. The provision would authorize the Secretary to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to require contractors developing, deploying, storing or hosting covered AI technologies to implement the framework’s best practices, with requirements tailored to specific technologies while considering cost-benefit analysis.
  • Roadmap for Advancing Digital Content Provenance Standards (Sec. 1629): Would direct DoD to develop a roadmap by June 1, 2026, to guide potential future adoption and integration of digital content provenance capabilities across the Department.
  • AI for Assistive Automation (Items of Special Interest): Would support the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Analysis Center’s development of metrics to quantitatively assess human-machine teaming performance, enabling analysis of effectiveness, vulnerability and sustainability of AI and autonomous systems for Army decision-making.
  • AI-Enabled Weapons Systems Center of Excellence (Items of Special Interest): Would encourage DoD, in fulfilling Sec. 1534 of the FY 2025 NDAA (P.L. 118–159), to adopt a federated approach to AI centers of excellence, considering proximity to platforms, existing infrastructure and integration with prototyping and sustainment, while also urging standardization of AI terminology to support future doctrine.
  • Competition on Adoption of AI and Commercial Cloud Computing Capabilities (Items of Special Interest): Would direct the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, to report to Congress by February 15, 2026, on current and long-term market dynamics for AI and commercial cloud computing.
  • Leveraging AI-Enabled Training Environments for Cyber Readiness (Items of Special Interest): Would encourage DoD to expand on its 2023 Data, Analytics and AI Adoption Strategy by leveraging ML and natural language processing to develop dynamic, threat-informed training environments.
  • Multimodal Generative AI Language Translation Capabilities (Items of Special Interest): Would encourage DoD to invest in and deploy multimodal generative AI translation capabilities, including text, audio, video and image, with automated human-in-the-loop review and mission-specific live fine-tuning across all services and combatant commands.

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAMS (TITLE XXXI)
  • Appropriate Scoping of AI Research Within the National Nuclear Security Administration (Sec. 3118): Would clarify that funds be authorized to be appropriated or made available to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for AI research may only be used to support NNSA’s nuclear security missions.

A number of tech-focused amendments have also been filed, including:

• SA 2900, filed by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), which would direct the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to identify research streams for robust AI model evaluation and security, initiate advanced assessment techniques, share findings with the scientific community and submit a report to Congress within one year
• SA 2938, filed by Sen. Schatz, which would require DoD to ensure that any publicly distributed content, including AI-generated content, does not contain false or misleading information and includes clear, accessible disclosures about its origin and nature
• SA 2905, filed by Sen. Schatz, which would direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to initiate the research and development of hardware-enabled governance mechanisms for advanced chips to ensure that such chips are not exported in violation of export controls imposed by the U.S.
• SA 2930, filed by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), which would direct DoD to establish or designate an office to serve as the lead for all quantum efforts of the Department.

House Bill (H.R. 3838 and Accompanying Committee Report)

• PROCUREMENT (TITLE I)
  • Strategy for Navy Investment in and Support for the Maritime Industrial Base (Sec. 118): Would require the Navy to develop and implement a strategy for direct investment in the maritime industrial base to address cost and schedule challenges for shipbuilding programs. The strategy must include considerations for the use of AI for supply chain monitoring. 

• OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE (TITLE III)
  • AI Data Centers and DoD Installation Capacity (Items of Special Interest): Expresses concern about the siting of non-Defense AI data centers on DoD land due to potential impacts on energy, water resources, mission readiness and security. Would direct DoD to submit a report by February 1, 2026, addressing current efforts, risk-benefit analysis, site selection criteria, power and water disruption mitigation, use of small modular reactors, cybersecurity concerns and applicable contracting mechanisms such as enhanced use leases (EULs).

• GENERAL PROVISIONS (TITLE X)
  • DoD Survey of AI Capabilities (Items of Special Interest): Would direct DoD to conduct a survey of AI capabilities for potential use in exercises or operations that would improve the accuracy of military targeting.

• MATTERS RELATING TO FOREIGN NATIONS (TITLE XII)
  • Research, Development, Test and Evaluation of Emerging Technologies to Further U.S. Warfighting Capabilities and Certain Partner Countries (Sec. 1202): Would establish an emerging technology cooperation program with Israel and certain partner countries, led by the Irregular Warfare Technology Support Directorate of DoD, to conduct joint research, development, test and evaluation in the areas of AI, cybersecurity, robotics, quantum and automation. 

• CYBERSPACE-RELATED MATTERS (TITLE XV)
  • Incorporation of AI Considerations into Annual Cybersecurity Training (Sec. 1512): Would require DoD, acting through the CIO, to revise the mandatory annual cybersecurity training to include content related to AI challenges.
  • Biological Data for AI (Sec. 1521): Would require DoD to develop and implement requirements that ensure qualified Department biological data resources are collected and stored for advanced computational methods.
  • AI and ML Security at DoD (Sec. 1531): Within 180 days of enactment, would require DoD to develop and implement a Department-wide policy for the cybersecurity and governance of AI and ML, as well as the models for AI and ML used in national defense applications. The provision also stipulates that all existing DoD policies regarding software bills of materials must extend to AI systems, models and software. The DoD CIO and CDAO must revise policies within 180 days.
  • Pilot Program for Data-Enabled Fleet Maintenance (Sec. 1532): Would require the Secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force to establish pilot programs to use commercially available AI technologies to improve the maintenance of ground vehicles in each military service's inventory.
  • Generative AI for National Defense (Sec. 1533): Would authorize the Department to create up to 12 generative AI lines of effort.

• SPACE ACTIVITIES, STRATEGIC PROGRAMS AND INTELLIGENCE MATTERS (TITLE XVI)
  • AI-Enabled Counter-Weapons of Mass Destruction (Items of Special Interest): The committee urges the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to explore AI-enabled radio frequency (RF) sensing technologies to counter evolving wireless-triggered weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). It directs the DTRA to brief the House Armed Services Committee by December 31, 2025, on efforts to validate the capability.
  • Integration of Defense Intelligence Tools (Items of Special Interest): Would direct the Defense Intelligence Agency to brief the House Armed Services Committee by January 31, 2026, on how the Machine-assisted Analytic Rapid-repository System (MARS) is working to incorporate existing AI and ML capabilities, guardrails, including legal and technical, for the incorporation of AI and ML into MARS, how MARS will be able to evolve as necessary, to adapt to future capabilities and any resource requirements to ensure MARS is able to meet the Defense Intelligence Agency’s requirements and mission.
  • Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Generative AI Mission Planner (Items of Special Interest): Would direct the Missile Defense Agency to brief Congress by February 1, 2026, on a program to develop and deploy generative AI-enabled mission planning tools for Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Aegis BMD ships, including cost and schedule estimates.

Defense Appropriations Enacted in FY 2023-FY 2025/Proposed FY 2026 Appropriations

_{^{See Congressional Research Service, FY2024 Defense Appropriations: Summary of Funding, CRS Report IN12234 (Apr. 22, 2024); Congressional Research Service, FY2025 Defense Appropriations: Summary of Funding, CRS Report IN12425 (June 20, 2024).}}