Strategic Unmanned Systems Partnership Act
Sponsored By: Representative Kaptur, Marcy [D-OH-9]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create a U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Defense Innovation Working Group to prioritize co-development and co-production of unmanned and counter‑UAS systems with Ukraine and to set mutual technology-transfer, intellectual property, and procurement frameworks.
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- Ukraine: Prioritizes Ukraine-designed covered systems for joint development, co-production, and acquisition and requires feasibility assessments to test U.S.-manufactured covered systems with Ukrainian operational units in active combat for evaluation.
- U.S. military and industry: Requires a detailed supply-chain assessment to reduce reliance on countries of concern, estimates costs for U.S.-based co-development and co-production, and directs steps to scale production in the United States, including using civilian manufacturing capacity.
- Oversight and timeline: The Working Group would meet at least every 120 days, deliver an initial strategy briefing within 120 days and semiannual progress reports to Congress, and would terminate after 5 years with a possible 1-year extension for vital national security needs.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
U.S.-Ukraine defense working group
This bill would require the Secretary of Defense, working with the Secretary of State, to set up a Strategic Defense Innovation Working Group within 90 days of enactment. The group would be co-chaired by five senior U.S. defense officials and include Ukrainian and NATO partners and industry participants. It would meet at least once every 120 days and would end five years after enactment, with a possible one-year extension if the Secretary says that extra year is vital and notifies congressional defense committees. The group would plan and coordinate co-development, co-production, acquisition, and transfer pathways for defined unmanned "covered systems."
Testing and scaling unmanned systems
This bill would direct the Working Group to prioritize Ukraine-designed covered systems that proved useful in combat for co-development, co-production, and U.S. acquisition. The group would study sending U.S.-made systems to Ukrainian units for real-world testing and would estimate costs to co-develop and co-produce these systems in the United States. It would require supply chain reviews to reduce dependence on countries of concern (Russia, China, Iran, North Korea) and identify authorities and agreements for joint ventures, licensed or cooperative production, and faster procurement. The group would also work on mutual technology transfer and intellectual property rules and name remediation pathways for systems that do not meet current U.S. fielding rules.
Definition of covered unmanned systems
This bill would define a "covered system" as an unmanned system built for a limited set of missions, expendable in high-threat settings, and low-cost per unit relative to its target. The definition would include the system software and hardware, aerial, underwater, and surface unmanned vehicles, counter-unmanned capabilities like jamming or interceptors, and command-and-control architectures. The bill would also define "Secretary" as the Secretary of Defense and set other basic terms that apply when the Working Group acts.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Kaptur, Marcy [D-OH-9]
OH • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
PA • R
Sponsored 6/30/2026
Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/30/2026
Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10]
TX • R
Sponsored 6/30/2026
Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/30/2026
Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]
NE • R
Sponsored 6/30/2026
Rep. Auchincloss, Jake [D-MA-4]
MA • D
Sponsored 7/20/2026
Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7]
VA • D
Sponsored 7/21/2026
Rep. Turner, Michael R. [R-OH-10]
OH • R
Sponsored 9/8/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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