tivity from manufacture of aircraft and parts sales 
and supported 547,900 direct jobs in 2016. 
(2) Growth in the civil aircraft market is pro-
jected 
to 
offer 
$8,000,000,000,000 
to 
$10,000,000,000,000 in new aircraft sales, parts, 
and services over the next 17 years. International 
governments are boosting their research and devel-
opment investments to give their domestic industries 
competitive advantages in the aircraft market. 
(3) In 2015, the Department of Defense spent 
$10,600,000,000 on jet fuel and $441,600,000 on 
jet fuel transportation to support the warfighter. 
NASA’s research into ultra-efficient air transport is 
important to the military’s efforts to reduce fuel 
costs, logistics pressures, and the level of human 
risk involved with providing worldwide energy solu-
tions. 
(4) NASA’s aeronautics research and collabo-
rative ventures yield innovations that can eventually 
be utilized in the aviation sector, opening up entirely 
new markets, enabling the United States aviation in-
dustry to grow and maintain global competitiveness, 
providing high-quality engineering and manufac-
turing jobs, and benefiting the quality of life for our 
citizens. 
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(5) Continued progress in the science and tech-
nology of aeronautics is crucial to the United States 
sustained economic success and the protection of the 
United States security interests at home and around 
the world, as acknowledged in the 2006 National 
Aeronautics Research and Development Policy. To 
ensure Federal efforts remain on a disciplined path 
to meet national objectives, the Director of the Of-
fice of Science and Technology Policy is responsible 
for the implementation and biennial review of the 
aeronautics research and development plan of the 
United States. 
(6) All of NASA’s other directorates and capa-
bilities, including those in space, depend on research 
and technology that originated and is maintained in 
NASA’s Aeronautics Centers. 
(7) Aeronautics plays a central role in our na-
tional security strategy, and our technological advan-
tage over potential adversaries must be maintained 
with sustained and focused research and develop-
ment. 
(8) NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Direc-
torate’s 6 strategic thrusts (safe, efficient growth in 
global operations; innovation in civil supersonic air-
craft; ultra-efficient subsonic vehicles; quiet and af-
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fordable vertical lift air vehicles; real-time, system-
wide safety assurance; and assured autonomy for 
aviation transformation) are effective and necessary 
research areas for the development of next genera-
tion aeronautics technology that will preserve the 
United States lead in the global aviation industry. 
(9) Aeronautics research is focused on funda-
mental capabilities that have the potential to open 
entirely new industries, including low-cost electric 
propulsion, advanced composite material manufac-
turing, simplified air vehicle operation, and in-
creased vertical takeoff and landing, that will allow 
for safer and more efficient aviation products and 
support mobility and economic growth. 
(10) To meet the challenges of the 21st cen-
tury, the United States needs to support NASA’s 
Aeronautics Research Program at funding levels 
that are commensurate with its past, present, and 
future contributions to the economic competitiveness 
and national security of the United States. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of NASA. 
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(2) AERONAUTICS
STRATEGIC
IMPLEMENTA-
TION PLAN.—The term ‘‘Aeronautics Strategic Im-
plementation Plan’’ means the Aeronautics Strategic 
Implementation Plan issued by the NASA Aero-
nautics Research Mission Directorate. 
(3) AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The 
term ‘‘air traffic management system’’ means the 
procedures, technology, and human resources to 
guide aircraft through the sky and on the ground 
and to manage low- and high-altitude airspace use. 
(4) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
(5) UNMANNED
AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘un-
manned aircraft’’ means an aircraft that is operated 
without the possibility of direct human intervention 
from within or on the aircraft. 
(6) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term 
‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ means an unmanned 
aircraft and associated elements (including commu-
nication links and the components that control the 
unmanned aircraft) that are required for the pilot in 
command to operate safely and efficiently in the na-
tional airspace system. 
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SEC. 4. EXPERIMENTAL PLANE PROGRAMS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) developing high-risk, precompetitive aero-
nautics technologies and demonstration aircraft for 
which there is not yet a profit rationale is a funda-
mental NASA role; 
(2) near-full-scale to laboratory and flight vehi-
cle flight test experimentation and validation are 
necessary for— 
(A) transitioning new technologies and ma-
terials, as well as their associated manufac-
turing processes, for general aviation, commer-
cial, and military aeronautics use; and 
(B) capturing the full breadth of benefits 
from the Aeronautics Research Mission Direc-
torate’s investments in priority programs called 
for in— 
(i) the National Aeronautics Research 
and Development Plan issued by the Na-
tional Science and Technology Council in 
February 2010; 
(ii) the NASA 2014 Strategic Plan; 
(iii) the Aeronautics Strategic Imple-
mentation Plan; and 
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