DEMONSTRATION OF NEAR REAL-TIME MONITORING CAPABILITIES TO ENHANCE WEAPON SYSTEM PLATFORMS.

SEC. 228. [10 U.S.C. 4001 note] DEMONSTRATION OF NEAR REAL-TIME MONITORING CAPABILITIES TO ENHANCE WEAPON SYSTEM PLATFORMS. (a) Demonstration.—Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the service acquisition executives, shall carry out a demonstration to equip selected weapon system platforms with onboard, near real-time, end-to-end serial bus and radio frequency monitoring capabilities to detect cyber threats and improve maintenance efficiency. (b) Phases.—The Secretary of Defense shall implement the demonstration under subsection (a) in phases as follows: (1) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— (A) select not fewer than three weapon system platforms for initial participation in the demonstration, prioritizing the MH-60R and MQ-9 aircraft fleets and using the priorities identified under section 1559 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117-263; 10 U.S.C. 2224 note); and (B) complete the initial deployment of monitoring capabilities to such platforms. (2) Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall extend monitoring capabilities to the complete fleets of selected platforms and complete initial data collection and analysis from all participating platforms. (c) Report Required.— (1) In general.—Not later than January 1, 2027, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the findings of the Secretary with respect to the demonstration conducted pursuant to subsection (a). (2) Contents.—The report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) The effectiveness of the monitoring capabilities with respect to— (i) cyber threat detection; (ii) maintenance efficiency; and (iii) operational readiness and mission capable rates. (B) Specific recommendations regarding— (i) whether near real-time monitoring capabilities should be implemented across additional Department weapon system platforms; (ii) if additional implementation is recommended, which specific weapon system platforms should receive priority for such implementation, along with the estimated costs and funding requirements; (iii) an analysis of the advisability of developing a program for implementing such capabilities, including potential risks, benefits, and trade-offs; and (iv) proposed metrics for measuring successful implementation and operational effectiveness. (3) Form of report.—The report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.