Congress·In Committee·H.R. 9119

To provide a prohibition on certain reductions to MQ-9 aircraft units, and for other purposes.

Military Drones: Protecting MQ-9 Aircraft Units

Jun 3·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committee

This bill is in the House Committee on Armed Services where it has been since June 2, 2026. The committee must review the bill before it can move forward, but no action has occurred since its introduction. It is currently stalled as most bills do not receive a committee vote.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

Standalone defense bills like this are usually added to the much larger yearly defense budget bill rather than passing as their own separate law.

Key Points

This bill stops the Air Force from getting rid of or shrinking MQ-9 drone units for the next several years. The Air Force would not be allowed to retire these aircraft, move them to backup status, or reduce the number of people who fly and maintain them until late 2032.
The rules apply to both the regular Air Force and the Air National Guard. If the Air Force wants to change a unit's mission, they must get permission from the state governor and prove to Congress that the new mission is just as good or better for national security.
There is an exception for individual drones that are broken beyond repair or unsafe to fly. If a drone is too old or damaged to be fixed, the Air Force can still take it out of service on a case-by-case basis.
The Air Force must also create a long-term plan for these drones. This plan must explain how they will update the fleet, how much it will cost, and what role the Air National Guard will play in flying these drones through the year 2035.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jun 3, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Jun 3, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

To provide a prohibition on certain reductions to MQ-9 aircraft units, and for other purposes.

Bill NumberHR 9119

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

D: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.