WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee has authorized $1.14 trillion in spending in its fiscal 2027 defense policy bill, which would create a new combatant command for autonomous systems and prohibit defense contractor share buybacks and dividends.
The committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act is in line with the $1.15 trillion in discretionary funding requested by the Trump administration for FY27, with $1 trillion authorized for the Defense Department and $41 billion for defense-related activities within the Energy Department. About $12 billion of defense funding is outside the jurisdiction of the NDAA.
SASC members voted the bill through committee in a 18-9 vote on Wednesday, a larger ratio of ‘no’ votes than is typical for the usually bipartisan measure. Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., disclosed today that they voted against the bill.
While the committee didn’t make big moves in terms of topline funding, it made several policy changes that would have major implications for both the Defense Department and the wider defense industrial base.
One key change would establish the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Combatant Command, which would oversee the integration of drones in operations. One staffer said the new command materialized after years of debate about how to centralize drone operations.
“What we ended up with was a four star combatant command that we think will help to integrate and go fast and transition the force generation of unmanned systems to services sometime in the future,” that staffer said. “I think, the view of the members was a scenario where the character warfare is changing so quickly that we need some measure of centralization here.”
A second staffer added that the legislation provides “some test and evaluation authorities, and limited acquisition authorities” to the new command.
Another shift is the creation of an Undersecretary of Defense for Cyber, Information, and Networks position, which will be dual-hatted as the department’s chief information officer and the principal cyber advisor to the secretary of defense.
Artificial intelligence was a major focus of the bill, with SASC members including provisions that codify the Defense Department review process for autonomous weapons and AI, “specifying standards for human judgment, validation and testing requirements, prohibited uses, and a centralized incident reporting repository.”
It also directs the Defense Department to establish an ecosystem “for the deployment and enterprise use of agentic artificial intelligence systems at scale and speed,” as well as compelling the department to develop “authoritative security standards” for AI agents.
In terms of major moves impacting the industrial base, SASC codified part of President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting defense contractors’ ability to issue dividends or do share buybacks. Specifically, the bill puts in law the prohibition on defense contractor share buybacks and dividends, but allows companies to seek a waiver if they submit a defense investment plan that outlines how they’re investing in research and development, facility expansion and workforce programs, the second congressional staffer said.
The first staffer added that members “generally” agreed with the substance of the executive order and that, given the historic level of defense funding, defense executives need to put more internal investment into capital expenditures.
Lawmakers also voted to include right to repair language, based on the Warrior Right to Repair bill authored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The staffer said there was “general consensus” on right to repair, with debate on the amendment largely supportive.
The bill approved a multiyear procurement for a list of munitions and aircraft, specifically the F-35 and F-15EX. However, a third staffer noted that F-15EX multiyear procurement will only be allowed once the Air Force certifies that prime contractor Boeing can produce aircraft at the required production rate.
SASC’s version of the NDAA does not include any of the funding items included in the Pentagon’s $350 billion reconciliation request, which is handled separately. Trump in a Truth Social post late Wednesday called on congressional Republicans to “IMMEDIATELY advance and pass the forthcoming $350 Billion Reconciliation Bill (Recon 3.0) — which, at the request of our Great Department of War — will include THE SAVE AMERICA ACT as well. No games, no delays, and no weak compromises! Do this ASAP.”
SASC Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said the FY27 NDAA “will pave the way for a manufacturing revival and an expansion of existing and emerging industries throughout the American economy — a reindustrialization the scale of which we have not seen since the second world war.”
Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, said provisions in the NDAA would force Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to be more accountable to Congress.
“Advancing this bill is a necessary step in a multi-step process. I will keep fighting to improve the bill,” he said.
Kaine, speaking to reporters this afternoon, said that SASC members debated amendments that would have lowered topline funding and imposed stricter oversight over the Pentagon’s leadership, but those failed. One measure that succeeded, however, was a department-endorsed move to change its name to the Department of War.
“I think that’s juvenile. I think that’s embarrassing,” Kaine said.
In a statement, Kaine said he couldn’t vote for the NDAA unless the war in Iran ends or Congress votes to authorize it.
“But I can’t in good conscience vote to advance a bill that helps clear the way for over $1.5 trillion in Pentagon funding at a time when the Trump-Vance Administration is waging an illegal and foolish war in the Middle East that is hurting our servicemembers and crushing Americans at the pump,” he said.
Navy And Marine Corps
Like House authorizers, the Senate version of the NDAA authorizes the procurement of second Arleigh Burke destroyer in FY27.
However, the Trump-class battleship took a hit in the bill, with SASC members opting to remove $1 billion in advance procurement funding, which a staffer said was considered early to need. The bill still contains about $850 million in development funding.
The NDAA also swiped at Navy efforts to consider foreign shipbuilders for constructing combatants, authorizing the procurement of up to two bulk fuel vessels and strategic sealift vessels in foreign shipyards but outlawing work on warships. The authorization for fuel and sealift vessels is also bundled “with a requirement for foreign investment into the United States maritime industrial base to reshore the production and supply chain for subsequent vessels,” the bill summary states.
The summary states that the bill increases the number of vessels required under the Landing Ship Medium program, but does not provide the new requirement. It also “directs the use of a vessel construction manager (VCM) only if the Secretary of the Navy decides to proceed with the light replenishment oiler program.”
Air Force And Space Force
Beyond the multiyear authority granted for the F-35 and F-15EX, the bill sets a requirement for a total fighter aircraft inventory of at least 1,800 aircraft and requires the Defense Department to establish a strategy for aircraft spare parts — a move SASC believes will “maximize competition and expand the defense industrial base supply chain for sustainment,” according to the bill summary.
The bill requires the Air Force to maintain at least 16 E-3 AWACS early warning aircraft, and prohibits retiring aircraft if it would reduce the fleet below that level.
It also gives a lifeline to the MQ-9 Reaper, directing the service to limit divestment and to increase the inventory by 2028.
For the Space Force, the bill eliminates “separate statutory requirements for the Space Development Agency (SDA) and Space Rapi
