(a) Plan required
The Secretary of the Air Force shall develop a plan to regenerate, restore, modify, and use a limited number of covered aircraft for research, development, test, and evaluation activities relevant to—
autonomous and semi-autonomous aircraft capabilities;
human-machine teaming;
mission autonomy software;
mission systems integration;
sensing, communications, and digital battlefield networking;
operational experimentation and tactics development; and
such other defense innovation purposes as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(b) Elements
The plan under subsection (a) shall include the following:
Plans for the use of covered aircraft for—
developmental flight testing;
operational evaluation;
autonomy experimentation;
software, sensor, communications, and mission systems integration;
optionally piloted, remotely assisted, or other autonomy-related flight experimentation, to the extent authorized by applicable law and regulation; and
associated ground test, simulation, mission rehearsal, and related research activities.
Consideration of how to make available to qualified United States entities a limited number of covered aircraft for the sole purpose of conducting the research, development, test, and evaluation activities described in this section, including any demilitarization requirements, cost reimbursements, and access to approved testing and evaluation facilities that may be required to facilitate the participation of such entities.
(c) Report
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Air Force shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives report on the plan developed under subsection (a).
(d) Definitions
In this section:
The term covered aircraft means an aircraft preserved at, inducted into, or proposed for induction into the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, including an aircraft stored or preserved on behalf of another military department or Department of Defense component, that the Secretary of the Air Force, in coordination with the head of the relevant military department or component, as appropriate, determines—
is structurally viable for regeneration, modification, test, evaluation, or other authorized use under this section;
is not required to meet current operational, training, test, contingency reserve, heritage, or security cooperation requirements; and
may be useful for research, development, test, and evaluation, autonomy experimentation, mission systems integration, uncrewed conversion, or related defense innovation purposes.
The term qualified United States entity means a domestic entity that the Secretary determines has the technical, security, financial, safety, and programmatic capability to support activities under this section, including—
a nontraditional defense contractor;
a commercial technology company;
a small business concern;
a traditional defense contractor;
a federally funded research and development center;
a university-affiliated research center; or
a consortium, team, or other arrangement composed of entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (F).