AI, satellites, and Golden Dome shine in new House-passed defense bill

Commercial satellite imagery, autonomy, and Golden Dome would all get a big boost under the version of the National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House on Tuesday night. The policy bill also seeks more congressional oversight for how the Pentagon handles less formal contracts and outreach to tech firms, and bolsters U.S. forces in Europe and support for Ukraine.

On satellite imagery, the bill pushes the Air Force to adopt the Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking—orTacSRT—effort as a formal program of record, which means the Air Force must fund it every year out of its budget. The program allows different entities across the Pentagon to send task orders to commercial satellite imagery companies directly (on their own dime), which resulted in much faster and better intelligence in 2024 as the military withdrew from bases in Niger and oversaw construction of a floating pier to deliver aid in Gaza. 

The bill also gives a big nod to Golden Dome, calling on the Defense Department to construct a missile defense shield that could “deter, and defend [United States’] citizens and critical infrastructure…against any foreign aerial attack on the homeland.” The change may seem small, but it’s actually quite significant. The Pentagon already maintains about 44 missile interceptors in Alaska and California, which are capable of dealing with a missile threat from a nation like Iran or North Korea, but not nearly enough to shoot down all the missiles that Russia or China could launch in the event of an attack. “Any” in the bill’s language provides a mandate to actually build the Golden Dome as envisioned. 

Read more at Defense One