National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, Section 341 ("Maintenance inspection capabilities and requirements")

• 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
• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal risk domain coverage, focusing narrowly on technical maintenance procedures for military aviation systems. It addresses AI system security and robustness (2.2, 7.3) through requirements for diagnostic tools and technical data, but does not substantively address broader AI risks, harms, or governance failures.

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 exclusively governs the National Security sector, specifically addressing maintenance procedures for Department of Defense aviation systems. It mandates the use of AI and machine learning diagnostic tools for military aircraft maintenance operations.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding statutory provision from the National Defense Authorization Act with mandatory requirements enforced through the chain of command within the Department of Defense.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is identified as a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, which is legislation enacted by the United States Congress.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Department of Defense; Secretary of Defense
• Summary: The document explicitly places requirements on the Secretary of Defense and the Department of Defense regarding maintenance procedures for aviation systems.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Defense; Department of Defense
• Summary: The Secretary of Defense is responsible for ensuring compliance with the maintenance requirements through the Department of Defense's internal chain of command and oversight mechanisms.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress; Department of Defense
• Summary: Congress monitors implementation through NDAA oversight, while the Department of Defense conducts internal monitoring of maintenance procedures and compliance with technical data requirements.

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
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document primarily addresses the Deploy and Operate and Monitor stages of the AI lifecycle, focusing on the integration of AI/ML diagnostic tools into maintenance operations and their ongoing use for predictive maintenance. There is minimal coverage of the Build and Use Model stage through the reference to building predictive maintenance databases.

Technical Scope

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

• Predictive AI
• Task-specific AI

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions artificial intelligence and machine learning in the context of diagnostic tools for predictive maintenance. It does not define or distinguish between AI models, AI systems, or specific types of AI. The focus is on practical application of AI/ML technology rather than technical AI governance concepts.