Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “American Drone Manufacturing Dominance Act of 2026”.
American Drone Manufacturing Dominance Act of 2026
A BILL
To condition certain grants on the discontinuation of use of any unmanned aircraft system manufactured by certain foreign countries, to strengthen domestic unmanned aircraft system manufacturing, enhance law enforcement security, and reduce reliance on unmanned aircraft systems produced by certain foreign countries by directing the use of certain tariff revenues, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Certification requirement for eligibility
In general— Beginning in fiscal year 2027, as a condition of receiving funds under a covered grant program, each law enforcement agency applying for a covered grant program shall certify to the Attorney General that—
the agency will not, after January 1, 2027, purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire any unmanned aircraft system manufactured in a covered foreign country; and
the agency will, not later than January 1, 2031, discontinue use of or discard any unmanned aircraft system manufactured in a covered foreign country that it currently owns or operates.
Form of certification— The Attorney General shall prescribe the form and manner of certification required under subsection (a), which may be included as part of any existing grant application or renewal process.
Compliance and enforcement— The Attorney General may conduct audits of recipients of covered grant program to ensure compliance with subsection (a).
Penalties for noncompliance— Any law enforcement agency found to be in violation of subsection (a)—
shall be ineligible to receive funds under a covered grant program for the following fiscal year; and
shall be required to repay any grant funds awarded under a covered grant program for that fiscal year.
Use of grant funds for secure unmanned aircraft system procurement—
Authorized use— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, amounts made available under a covered grant may be used by a State, unit of local government, or law enforcement agency to acquire, operate, and maintain an unmanned aircraft system that is not manufactured by, assembled by, or otherwise sourced from a covered foreign country.
Priority consideration— In awarding a covered grant program, the Attorney General may give priority to applicants seeking to replace or upgrade unmanned aircraft systems manufactured in a covered foreign country with secure systems manufactured in the United States or by allies and partners of the United States.
Rulemaking— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue regulations to carry out this section, including establishing procedures for certification, auditing, and enforcement.
Sec. 3 Use of section 301 duty revenues
In general— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000,000 to be derived from duties collected pursuant to any action taken by the United States Trade Representative under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411).
Allocation of funds— Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a)—
$150,000,000 is authorized to be made available to the Attorney General to carry out section 4;
$150,000,000 is authorized to be made available to the Attorney General to carry out section 5; and
$1,200,000,000 is authorized to be made available to the Secretary of Commerce to carry out section 6.
Availability and rescission of funds for sections 4 and 5— Amounts authorized to be appropriated under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b)—
shall remain available for obligation for a period of 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act; and
any amounts not obligated at the end of such period shall be permanently rescinded and deposited into the general fund of the Treasury for the sole purpose of deficit reduction.
Sec. 4 Law enforcement unmanned aircraft system buyback program
Establishment— The Attorney General shall establish a program to provide payments to State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to surrender to the Attorney General unmanned aircraft systems manufactured or assembled in a covered foreign country.
Eligible equipment— Equipment that is eligible to be surrendered to the Attorney General for payment under this section is—
an unmanned aircraft system that was manufactured in, assembled in, or otherwise sourced from a covered foreign country; or
in the case of an unmanned aircraft system that was not manufactured in, assembled in, or otherwise sourced from a covered foreign country, a critical component of such system that was manufactured in, assembled in, or otherwise sourced from a covered foreign country.
Use of funds— Funds made available under this section may be used to—
compensate State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies for surrendered unmanned aircraft systems or critical components of such systems;
cover administrative costs of operating the program; and
ensure secure destruction, decommissioning, or controlled storage of unmanned aircraft systems surrendered under this section.
Priority— The Attorney General shall give priority for payment under this section to law enforcement agencies that surrender unmanned aircraft systems that are actively deployed in public safety or critical infrastructure operations.
Sec. 5 DOJ grants for procurement of secure unmanned aircraft systems
Grants authorized— The Attorney General, acting through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office of Justice Programs, shall award grants to State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies for the procurement of unmanned aircraft systems that are not manufactured or assembled in a covered foreign country.
Eligible uses— Grant funds may be used for—
acquisition of unmanned aircraft systems not manufactured or assembled in a covered foreign country;
training, certification, and licensing of operators of such systems;
maintenance, software, and cybersecurity protections related to such systems; and
integration of such systems into public safety operations.
Preference— In awarding grants, the Attorney General shall give preference to law enforcement agencies that will procure—
systems manufactured in the United States; or
systems manufactured in Ukraine, a NATO ally, a major non-NATO ally, or a qualifying country (as defined in section 225.003 of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation), that do not include components manufactured in a covered foreign country.
Sec. 6 Domestic unmanned aircraft system manufacturing facility grants
Program established— The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a competitive grant program to make grants to private entities to support the construction, expansion, or modernization of facilities in the United States for the manufacturing of unmanned aircraft systems and related components.
Eligibility— A private entity shall be eligible to receive a grant under this section if the entity—
manufactures unmanned aircraft systems or unmanned aircraft system components;
proposes to construct or substantially expand an unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft system component manufacturing facility located in the United States; and
demonstrates that the unmanned aircraft systems or unmanned aircraft system components manufactured at such facility are capable of being readily adapted or repurposed for use by the Department of Defense.
Defense repurposability requirement— For purposes of subsection (b)(3), an unmanned aircraft system shall be considered readily adaptable for use by the Department of Defense if it—
is designed using modular or open-architecture systems;
is capable of supporting encrypted communications, secure navigation, or payload integration; and
can be modified for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, logistics, or other defense missions without substantial redesign.
Use of funds— A grant under this section may be used for—
site acquisition and preparation;
construction and equipment costs;
workforce training and development;
advanced manufacturing tooling and supply chain localization; and
research and development directly related to production readiness.
Coordination With Department of Defense— The Secretary of Commerce shall consult with the Secretary of Defense to ensure that recipients of grants under this section manufacture unmanned aircraft systems that are compatible with current or anticipated defense operational requirements.
Sec. 7 Reporting and oversight
Department of justice report— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report describing—
the number and types of unmanned aircraft systems surrendered pursuant to section 4; and
the distribution and use of grants under section 5.
Department of commerce report— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to Congress a report detailing—
grants awarded under section 6;
construction progress and operational status of facilities funded under such section; and
the extent to which such facilities are producing systems with defense applications.
Sec. 8 Definitions
In this Act:
Covered foreign country— The term covered foreign country has the meaning given the term covered nation in section 4873 of title 10, United States Code.
Unmanned aircraft system— The term unmanned aircraft system has the meaning given in section 44801 of title 49, United States Code.
Law enforcement agency— The term law enforcement agency means any State, local, or Tribal police department, sheriff’s office, or other governmental entity with authority to enforce criminal laws.
Covered grant program— The term covered grant program means any grant program administered by—
the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of Justice; or
the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice.
NATO Ally— The term NATO ally means a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (other than the United States).
Major non-NATO ally— The term major non-NATO ally has the meaning given such term in section 644(q) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2403(q)).