National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, Section 152 ("Requirements for an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roadmap for the Air Force")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: NDAA provisions;U.S. federal laws;FY2026 NDAA
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2025-12-18

Risk subdomain coverage

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

• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal to no coverage of AI risk domains. It is a procedural requirement for the Air Force to submit a roadmap detailing ISR technology investments, including AI and machine learning. The document does not address specific AI risks, harms, or mitigation strategies - it merely mandates planning and reporting on technology acquisition.

Sector coverage

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

• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document governs AI use exclusively within the National Security sector, specifically the U.S. Air Force's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. It does not regulate AI use in any civilian or commercial sectors.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative provision from the National Defense Authorization Act with mandatory reporting requirements enforced through Congressional oversight mechanisms.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is Section 152 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, which is proposed and enacted by the United States Congress as indicated in the document header.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of the Air Force; Air Force
• Summary: The document explicitly requires the Secretary of the Air Force to submit a roadmap and details requirements for Air Force ISR capabilities, making the Air Force the primary target of this governance instrument.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: congressional defense committees; United States Congress
• Summary: The congressional defense committees are designated as the recipients of the required roadmap submission, giving them oversight and enforcement authority over compliance with this requirement.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: congressional defense committees
• Summary: The congressional defense committees will monitor implementation through the required roadmap submission and the proposed timeline and milestones for implementation over ten fiscal years.

AI Lifecycle Stages

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

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

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document primarily covers the Plan and Design stage by requiring a strategic roadmap for ISR capabilities. It also addresses Build and Use Model through planned investments in AI and machine learning technologies, Deploy through integration planning, and Operate and Monitor through assessment of current systems and future implementation timelines.

Technical Scope

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

No technical scope terms identified.

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI and machine learning as emerging ISR technologies requiring planned investments. It also references autonomous or remotely piloted platforms. However, it does not define or distinguish between AI models, AI systems, or specific categories like frontier AI, general purpose AI, or foundation models.