enhance their operational effectiveness, resilience, 
and lethality, when used by covered foreign adver-
saries, including terrorist organizations, including 
the use of artificial intelligence, autonomous naviga-
tion and targeting systems, advanced surveillance 
sensors, precision-guided payloads, encrypted com-
munications links, physical tethering mechanisms 
(such as fiber optic cables that enable uninterrupted 
command and control in contested environments), 
cybersecurity-resilient architectures designed to pre-
vent intrusion or remote exploitation, or any other 
adaptations intended to defeat or bypass electronic 
warfare countermeasures through resistance to jam-
ming, spoofing, or signal degradation. 
‘‘(6) An evaluation of the use of low-cost, high- 
volume swarms of covered unmanned aircraft sys-
tems deployed by covered foreign adversaries, includ-
ing terrorist organizations, in any region of active 
conflict as determined by the Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the heads of other relevant Federal depart-
ments or agencies the Secretary determines appro-
priate, and the extent to which similar swarm tactics 
could overwhelm law enforcement within the home-
land or overwhelm homeland defense systems, in-
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cluding the potential to exhaust counter-UAS sys-
tems and associated resources or create mass panic. 
‘‘(7) An assessment of the use of covered un-
manned aircraft systems by covered foreign adver-
saries, including terrorist organizations, in any re-
gion of active conflict as determined by the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the heads of other rel-
evant Federal departments or agencies the Secretary 
determines appropriate, to deliver chemical, biologi-
cal, radiological, or nuclear payloads or simulants, 
including efforts to repurpose agricultural or indus-
trial spraying unmanned aircraft systems for non-
conventional attacks, and whether such scenarios are 
adequately modeled or prepared for in homeland se-
curity planning. 
‘‘(8) A review of how covered foreign adver-
saries, including terrorist organizations, in any re-
gion of active conflict as determined by the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the heads of other rel-
evant Federal departments or agencies the Secretary 
determines appropriate, have experimented with 
water-launched unmanned aircraft systems and un-
manned aircraft systems deployed from shipping 
containers or disguised vehicles, and the implications 
such tactics may pose for port security, land border 
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security, or the security of critical infrastructure of 
the United States or a foreign country in proximity 
to seaports within the homeland. 
‘‘(9) An assessment of lessons learned from on-
going and recent global conflicts regarding the utili-
zation, defense, and defeat of covered unmanned air-
craft systems, and from the experiences of allied and 
partner countries in countering unmanned aircraft 
system-enabled attacks conducted by covered foreign 
adversaries, including terrorist organizations, includ-
ing an evaluation of the effectiveness of mobile 
counter-UAS system platforms, passive detection 
and tracking technologies, airspace management and 
deconfliction tools, and regulatory mechanisms (such 
as drone zoning laws), the applicability of such les-
sons to Federal, State, and local homeland security 
operations, and the manner in which the Depart-
ment has incorporated, or plans to incorporate, such 
lessons into its homeland security planning, counter- 
UAS systems strategy, and interagency coordination 
activities. 
‘‘(10) An assessment of the adoption, adapta-
tion, and potential operational use of unmanned air-
craft systems by transnational criminal organiza-
tions, cartels, or other illicit groups in the Western 
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Hemisphere that are supplied by or emulating cov-
ered foreign adversaries, including terrorist organi-
zations, including cross-border weaponization trends, 
narcotics trafficking, and surveillance of law enforce-
ment operations. 
‘‘(11) A review of the Department’s research 
and development efforts to counter emerging threats 
posed by covered unmanned aircraft systems used by 
covered foreign adversaries, including terrorist orga-
nizations, and how such efforts contribute to domes-
tic preparedness for and collective response to ter-
rorism. 
‘‘(12) A description of how the Secretary has 
incorporated input, technology, and best practices 
from private sector entities, including such entities 
the counter-UAS systems or detection technologies 
of which are currently deployed in regions of active 
conflict as determined by the Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the heads of other relevant Federal depart-
ments or agencies the Secretary determines appro-
priate, involving covered foreign adversaries, includ-
ing terrorist organizations, in order to strengthen 
domestic preparedness and accelerate adoption of ef-
fective counter-UAS system capabilities. 
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‘‘(13) Any other matter relating to covered un-
manned aircraft systems the Secretary determines 
appropriate. 
‘‘(c) TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING.—To en-
hance domestic preparedness against terrorism threats as-
sessed in accordance with subsection (a), the Secretary, 
in consultation with the heads of relevant components and 
offices of the Department, as determined by the Secretary, 
shall develop recommendations, training modules, and ex-
ercises for Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial law 
enforcement to recognize, report, and respond to malicious 
use of unmanned aircraft systems by covered foreign ad-
versaries, including terrorist organizations, incorporating 
lessons learned from current and recent global conflicts. 
‘‘(d) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall develop 
each assessment of terrorism threats under subsection (a) 
in consultation with representatives of the following: 
‘‘(1) Components and offices of the Depart-
ment. 
‘‘(2) The Department of Defense. 
‘‘(3) The Office of the Director of National In-
telligence. 
‘‘(4) Any other representatives of Federal de-
partments or agencies the Secretary determines ap-
propriate. 
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‘‘(e) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall seek to collaborate with represent-
atives of private sector entities, each of whom shall be, 
in the determination of the Secretary, a highly accom-
plished leader in the field of counter-UAS systems with 
demonstrated experience in developing, deploying, or ad-
vising on covered unmanned aircraft systems used in re-
gions in which covered foreign adversaries, including ter-
rorist organizations, operate, in order to leverage private- 
sector expertise and resources for research, analysis, and 
evaluation of emerging threats relating to unmanned air-
craft systems. 
‘‘(f) BRIEFING REQUIRED.—Not later than seven 
days after the submission of each assessment of terrorism 
threats under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide 
to the appropriate congressional committees a classified 
briefing on the findings, conclusions, and recommenda-
tions contained in such assessment. 
‘‘(g) FORM.—Each assessment of terrorism threats 
under subsection (a) shall be submitted in classified form. 
The Secretary shall also prepare an unclassified annex to 
each such assessment, which shall be made publicly avail-
able on the website of the Department. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’ means— 
‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 
of the House of Representatives; and 
‘‘(B) the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 
‘‘(2) 
COUNTER-UAS 
SYSTEM.—The 
term 
‘counter-UAS system’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 44801 of title 49, United States 
Code. 
‘‘(3) COVERED
FOREIGN
ADVERSARY.—The 
term ‘covered foreign adversary’ means— 
‘‘(A) any foreign government, military, in-
telligence service, or other authority of a cov-
ered foreign country acting independently; or 
‘‘(B) any organization, group, or person 
acting on behalf of, with the support, direction, 
control, or influence of, or trained or supplied 
by, such a foreign government, military, intel-
ligence service, or other authority, including any 
proxy, militia, paramilitary organization, intel-
ligence or security service, or other state-spon-
sored actor that receives material support, 
training, technical assistance, or operational co-
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ordination from a covered foreign country and 
engages in activities that threaten the national 
security of the United States or its allies. 
‘‘(4) COVERED FOREIGN COUNTRY.—The term 
‘covered foreign country’ means a country that— 
‘‘(A) the intelligence community (as such 
term is defined in section 3(4) of the National 
Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))) has 
identified as a foreign adversary in its most re-
cent Annual Threat Assessment; or 
‘‘(B) the Secretary, in coordination with 
the Director of National Intelligence, has iden-
tified as a foreign adversary that is not in-
cluded in such Annual Threat Assessment. 
‘‘(5) COVERED
UNMANNED
AIRCRAFT
SYS-
TEM.—The term ‘covered unmanned aircraft system’ 
means any unmanned aircraft system that— 
‘‘(A) is manufactured in a covered foreign 
country or by an entity domiciled in a covered 
foreign country; 
‘‘(B) uses flight controllers, radios, data 
transmission devices, cameras, or gimbals man-
ufactured in a covered foreign country or by an 
entity domiciled in a covered foreign country; 
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‘‘(C) uses a ground control system or oper-
ating software developed in a covered foreign 
country or by an entity domiciled in a covered 
foreign country; or 
‘‘(D) uses network connectivity or data 
storage located in a covered foreign country or 
administered by an entity domiciled in a cov-
ered foreign country. 
‘‘(6) HOMELAND SECURITY ENTERPRISE.—The 
term ‘Homeland Security Enterprise’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 2200. 
‘‘(7) TERRORIST
ORGANIZATION.—The term 
‘terrorist organization’ means— 
‘‘(A) any entity designated as a foreign 
terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1189); or 
‘‘(B) any entity engaged in terrorism, as 
such term is defined in section 2(18). 
‘‘(8) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term 
‘unmanned aircraft system’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 44801 of title 49, United 
States Code, except that the requirement relating to 
safe and efficient operation in the national airspace 
system shall not apply for purposes of this section.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
323 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 324. Annual assessment on terrorism threats to the United States relat-
ing to the use of unmanned aircraft systems by covered foreign 
adversaries, including terrorist organizations.’’. 
Æ 
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