William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Division A, Title I, Section 164 ("Acceleration of development and fielding of counter unmanned aircraft systems across the joint force")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: NDAA provisions;U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2021-01-01

Risk subdomain coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the risk subdomain are explicitly described.

• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Competitive dynamics
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities
• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of risk domains, with primary focus on malicious actors (4.2) through counter-UAS weapons development, and limited coverage of competitive dynamics (6.4) through accelerated development timelines. Coverage is concentrated in security and defense-related domains.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• National Security

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Scientific Research & Development Services

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs the National Security sector through requirements for counter-UAS system development and deployment by military departments and defense agencies. It does not regulate private sector activities or civilian applications.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding federal statute enacted by the United States Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, with mandatory language requiring specific actions by designated executive agents and oversight mechanisms.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The document is a section of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which is federal legislation enacted by the United States Congress.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The document explicitly targets the Executive Agent designated by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, requiring them to develop and execute plans for counter-UAS systems and oversee military department activities.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The congressional defense committees receive mandatory briefings and provide oversight, while the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment has authority to designate the Executive Agent who must ensure compliance.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The congressional defense committees monitor implementation through mandatory briefings, while the Executive Agent monitors execution of counter-UAS systems development across military departments.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Plan and Design
• Build and Use Model
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Plan and Design (developing counter-UAS systems), Build and Use Model (autonomous and semi-autonomous systems), Verify and Validate (operational testing requirements), Deploy (fielding by fiscal year 2021), and Operate and Monitor (oversight of execution and continuous integration capabilities).

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• AI Systems
• Task-specific AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions autonomous and semi-autonomous AI systems for counter-UAS applications. It does not reference AI models, frontier AI, general purpose AI, foundation models, generative AI, or compute thresholds. The focus is on task-specific AI systems designed for defense applications.