Military Helicopter Safety Bill Demands 90-Day Feasibility Reports on Collision Avoidance Tech

The Military Helicopter Training Safety Act of 2025 doesn't actually mandate buying new gear; instead, it puts the Department of Defense (DoD) on a tight, 90-day deadline to figure out if two specific, crucial aviation safety systems can—and should—be installed on every single military helicopter.

The 90-Day Homework Assignment

Within three months of this bill becoming law, the Secretary of Defense has to send Congress two detailed reports. The first report is all about the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which is defined right in the bill by referencing the existing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards (14 CFR 121.356). TCAS is the technology that tells pilots, "Hey, there’s another plane too close, and you need to move now." The second report is a parallel study on Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast IN (ADS-B IN), a newer system that gives pilots a real-time, high-definition picture of surrounding air traffic.

What the Reports Must Cover

This isn't just a quick check-the-box exercise. For both TCAS and ADS-B IN, the DoD has to deliver a full breakdown covering four major points. First, the Cost Analysis: exactly how much money it would take to retrofit every military rotary-wing aircraft. Second, the Airspace Impact: how installing this gear would affect the safety of civilian airspace. Think of a busy regional airport where military training routes overlap with commercial flight paths; this study has to analyze if adding these systems makes those shared skies safer. Third, the Cockpit Changes: what physical modifications would be needed inside the helicopter to fit the new screens and wiring. Finally, the Operational Impact: how adding this technology would affect everything from combat missions to routine training exercises and domestic security work.

Why This Matters for Everyone Else

While this bill focuses on military hardware, the biggest real-world impact for the average person is around airspace safety. Military helicopters often fly lower and faster than commercial planes, and they sometimes operate under different rules. When a military helicopter is training near a major metropolitan area or a busy airline corridor, having advanced collision avoidance systems like TCAS and ADS-B IN means better situational awareness for military pilots, which is a big win for civilian air traffic safety. This bill forces the DoD to specifically analyze and report on that benefit.

The Catch: Feasibility and Alternatives

If the Secretary of Defense determines that installing either TCAS or ADS-B IN isn't feasible—perhaps due to extreme cost, operational conflicts, or technical limitations—the bill requires them to pivot. Instead of just saying “no,” they must recommend alternative safety systems or capabilities that would achieve a similar safety goal. This provision ensures that even if the specific technology isn't a fit, the discussion about improving helicopter safety and civilian airspace awareness continues. For now, the bill acts as a procedural mandate, forcing the DoD to crunch the numbers and provide Congress with the data necessary to make future, potentially costly, safety decisions.