S.Amdt. 6120

SA 6120, submitted by Ms. Ernst, aims to add a new section (Section 2873) to bill S. 4784. Its purpose is to require a report on underutilized Air National Guard airfield infrastructure.

The amendment requires the Secretary of the Air Force, working with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau and the Commander of United States Strategic Command, to provide a report to congressional defense committees within 180 days of the Act's enactment.

The report must evaluate the cost-benefits, infrastructure readiness, and feasibility of placing permanent, manned flying missions at Air National Guard installations that have active runways but no manned active aircraft.

Specifically, the report must include:

• An inventory of Air National Guard installations with active runways of 9,000 feet or more, secure military enclaves, and proximity to geographic commands or regional training corridors.

• An assessment of how joint use commercial airfield infrastructure, such as secure ramp space and taxiways, can host distributed strategic assets or permanent ones.

• An evaluation of technical expertise and workforce readiness to support advanced manned flying missions, including remotely piloted aircraft operations, intelligence, and cyber.

• An assessment of distributed basing or alternative options needed to support strategic long-range strike systems if total procurement goes beyond the initial approved acquisition quantity.