National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027

Key provisions

• Authorizes FY2027 DoD Spending Levels and Sets Force Sizes
  • Sections 101, 201, 301, and 421 authorize appropriations for procurement, research/development/test/evaluation, operation and maintenance, and military personnel — with the specific dollar amounts set out in the Division D funding tables (Sections 4101, 4201, 4301, 4401)
  • Section 401 sets active-duty end strengths as of September 30, 2027: Army 469,000; Navy 356,600; Marine Corps 173,700; Air Force 330,400; Space Force 13,200
  • Section 411 sets Selected Reserve strengths: Army National Guard 331,300; Army Reserve 172,000; Navy Reserve 56,500; Marine Corps Reserve 34,700; Air National Guard 107,400; Air Force Reserve 67,400; Coast Guard Reserve 8,500
  • Section 1001 provides $6.00B in general transfer authority letting the Secretary of Defense move funds between accounts within the authorization
• Military Construction Across the Services
  • Section 2101 authorizes $1.97B for Army construction and land acquisition (10 items)
  • Section 2201 authorizes $19.25B for Navy construction and land acquisition (18 items)
  • Section 2301 authorizes $9.94B for Air Force construction and land acquisition (30 items)
  • Section 2401 authorizes $5.24B for Defense Agencies construction and land acquisition (21 items), plus Section 2402 authorizes $694.3M for the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program
  • Section 2501 authorizes $604.3M for NATO Security Investment Program construction projects
• Servicemember Pay, Benefits, and Family Provisions
  • Section 632 raises the death gratuity payable to survivors of a servicemember killed on active duty from $100,000 to $165,000, applicable to deaths on or after enactment, and adds a Consumer Price Index cost-of-living adjustment beginning January 1, 2027
  • Section 706 requires TRICARE to cover a supply of up to 365 days of a contraceptive on the uniform formulary — including in a single fill or refill — for members on active duty and their dependents, starting no later than 180 days after enactment
  • Section 612 makes permanent the authority under 37 USC 403 for the Secretary concerned to make an equitable Basic Allowance for Housing determination for a member without dependents assigned to sea duty
  • Section 615 authorizes the Department to pay the cost of shipping breast milk for a servicemember mother performing duty away from her nursing child
  • Section 601 extends most expiring bonus, incentive-pay, and special-pay authorities from December 31, 2026 to December 31, 2027
• Foreign-Policy Provisions: Israel, Taiwan, NATO, China, Korea
  • Section 1246 authorizes up to $1.00B for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative for fiscal year 2027
  • Section 1221 extends the U.S. war reserve stockpile authority for Israel from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2029; Section 1222 renames the U.S.-Israel anti-tunnel cooperation program "subterranean" and extends it through 2029; Section 1223 extends U.S.-Israel counter-unmanned-systems cooperation through 2029
  • Section 1237 requires the U.S. European Command Commander to submit 90-day reports through January 1, 2028 on allied progress toward the 5 percent defense-investment commitment agreed at the 2025 Hague NATO Summit, and on force posture and readiness on NATO's eastern flank
  • Section 1247 extends existing restrictions on obligating or expending U.S. funds for changes to U.S. military posture on the Korean Peninsula to cover fiscal year 2027 amounts as well as fiscal year 2026
  • Section 1722 requires a classified report on Russian and Chinese intelligence penetration in Georgia, plus a 5-year State Department strategy for bilateral relations with Georgia
• Emerging Technology and Missile-Defense Provisions
  • Section 1523 directs the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer to establish an AI Model Rapid Deployment Framework, with the objective of deploying artificial intelligence systems on Department enterprise AI platforms within 30 days after public availability
  • Section 1655 requires the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation to conduct an independent life-cycle cost estimate of the space-based interceptor program, and bars a full-rate production contract until the Secretary certifies at least one successful operationally relevant flight test
  • Section 1656 directs the Missile Defense Agency to develop and demonstrate a low-cost exo-atmospheric interceptor complementary to existing ballistic-missile-defense interceptors
  • Section 3111 rewrites 10 USC 6128(a) to require the Department of Energy to ensure the nuclear security enterprise has the capability to reliably produce no fewer than 180 war reserve plutonium pits annually by not later than 2050
  • Section 1811 requires annual reports through 2032 on supply-chain dependencies for biotechnology equipment and services, including a classified annex identifying any biotechnology company of concern being considered for OMB designation