How the FY 2026 NDAA Reshapes U.S. Drone Policy

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) annually secures funding, specifies expenditures, and creates policy for the U.S. military. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 NDAA passed this December guarantees over $900 billion in national defense funding, $8 billion more than the Trump administration’s budget request.

This year’s was the first NDAA signed by President Trump since his administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have overhauled the Department of War. The FY 2026 NDAA was highlighted by significant investments in shipbuilding and missile defense, policy focused on countering adversaries such as China and Russia, and the modernization of weapons systems like the F-35 and M1E3 Abrams tank.

Another core pillar of the Trump administration’s efforts to modernize the DoW was increased investments in drone, or UAS, technology. In this year’s NDAA drones are mentioned ten times and UAS are mentioned 33.

This report will walk through what the defense funding bill lays out for UAS investments in 2026.

IDGA’s Next Gen UAS Summit provides an excellent opportunity for the defense industry and U.S. military to gather under one roof to discuss ongoing drone dominance efforts. The two-day summit, taking place June 23-24 in Arlington, Virginia, will bring thought leaders together to discuss emerging UAS investment priorities, one-way attack systems, vertical lift modernization, AI-enabled autonomy, ISR capabilities, next-generation training pipelines, and much more.