A bill to require a report on the advisability and feasibility of establishing a Drone Center of Excellence within the Army National Guard.

S. 5342 would require the Secretary of the Army to submit a report, within 180 days of enactment, on whether it would be advisable and feasible to establish a "Drone Center of Excellence" within the Army National Guard at a National Guard training site. The report must address four specific functions the center could perform: certifying operators of unmanned aerial systems during annual training, developing doctrine and tactics for operating such systems, experimenting with integrating artificial intelligence for target recognition and situational awareness, and conducting force-on-force drone exercises (including brigade-level "drone wars" experimentation with infantry, armor, and joint units).

The bill directly affects the Department of the Army and the Army National Guard, which would be responsible for producing the report, and it would go to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. It does not itself create the center or authorize funding — it only mandates a feasibility study.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on August 6, 2026, read twice, and referred to the Senate Committee on Armed Services, where it currently sits. Before becoming law it would need committee action, floor votes in both chambers, and the President's signature; no further action has occurred yet.

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