A bipartisan group of Congressional representatives want to expand the National Nuclear Security Administration’s authority to develop counter drone technology, according to a press release by Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.).
The Nuclear Ecosystem Drone Defense Act (NEDD) was introduced by: Reps. Lee and Mark Amodei (R) from Nevada, Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), according to a March 18 press release.
The representatives announced what would become a bicameral bill in the House to increase protection of DOE nuclear assets from “unmanned aerial systems,” or drones. The legislation comes amid a series of drone sightings near National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) facilities.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) is leading companion legislation in the other chamber, the press release said.
The NEDD Act would allow DOE to acquire drone technology, similar to “that of our adversaries,” to test counter-drone systems, the release said. It would also allow DOE to develop defense systems, and expand the definition of “covered assets” to include facilities housing nuclear weapons components and transport vehicles.
“Unauthorized drones pose a serious threat to America’s nuclear resources related to national security, including at the Nevada National Security Site where we maintain America’s nuclear weapons ecosystem,” Lee, a member of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Defense, said in the release. “Our bipartisan NEDD Act bill will give the Department of Energy the tools it needs to defend all its nuclear and national security assets from unauthorized enemy drones.”
“[A]dversaries should not be able to fly a drone over anywhere in this country that makes part of a nuclear weapon,” Moulton, ranking member of the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces, said.
NNSA is the “cornerstone of our strategic production capabilities” that should have “tools to protect our most sensitive security capabilities,” Fleischman said. He is chair of the House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee and his district abuts Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
While Fleischmann and Lee told the Exchange Monitor at the Capitol Wednesday that they did not know when the bill would go to committee, Lee and her staff said they were aiming for around the time they vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, so “summer, fall” time.
