ESTABLISHMENT OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE JOINT OPERATIONAL TEST BED SYSTEM.

SEC. 261. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE JOINT OPERATIONAL TEST BED SYSTEM. (a) Establishment of Test Bed System.—The commander of the United States Joint Forces Command shall establish a government flight activity capability (referred to as a “test bed”) within the facilities and resources of that command to evaluate and ensure joint interoperability of unmanned aerial vehicle systems. That capability shall be independent of the military departments and shall be managed directly by the Joint Forces Command. 115 STAT. 1044 (b) Priority for Use of Predator Assets.—The Secretary of the Navy shall ensure that the commander of the United States Joint Forces Command controls the priority for use of the two Predator unmanned aerial vehicles currently undergoing operational testing by the Navy, together with associated payloads and antennas and the associated tactical control system (TCS) ground station. (c) Use by Joint Forces Command.—The items specified to in subsection (b) may be used by the commander of the United States Joint Forces Command only through the independent joint operational test bed system established pursuant to subsection (a) for testing of those items, including further development of the associated tactical control system (TCS) ground station, other aspects of unmanned aerial vehicle interoperability, and participation in such experiments and exercises as the commander considers appropriate to the mission of that command.