Radar Next Program Act of 2026

What happened: On February 5, 2026, Senator Cantwell (D-WA) introduced S.3795, the Radar Next Program Act of 2026. The bill was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, where it remains. The bill mandates the Under Secretary (NOAA), in consultation with the NWS Director, to establish a program to develop performance requirements for the future weather radar network and produce a plan to replace the existing NEXRAD system. No authorized funding amount is specified — this is purely a planning and study bill. The money trail: There is no authorized or appropriated funding in this bill. The text directs NOAA to develop a plan, evaluate commercial radars via a testbed, and develop phased array radar specifications. All of these are pre-procurement activities. Actual procurement would require a separate authorization bill with a funding ceiling, followed by an appropriations bill. That process is multiple Congresses away. The action history shows only 2 actions on a single day (introduction and referral), indicating zero legislative velocity. Structural winners and losers: RTX is the sole clear beneficiary due to its incumbency as the NEXRAD manufacturer and its existing phased array radar expertise. However, this bill confers no competitive advantage at this stage — it merely acknowledges the need for a plan. No other defense primes (LMT, NOC, BA) are named or specifically advantaged. The bill also mentions evaluating commercial radars and gap-filling small radars, which could eventually benefit smaller radar technology firms, but none are specifically tied to the text and no tickers can be confidently assigned. Real market data: RTX closed at $175.16 on April 30, 2026, down -9.2% over 30 days. The stock has been range-bound between $172.79 and $196.42 over the last 10 trading days, with a 52-week range of $125.43 to $214.50. The 7-day +0.52% uptick from $172.79 to $175.16 shows minor recovery from the recent selloff, not a legislative catalyst. Timeline: The bill is in committee with no scheduled markup, no companion bill in the House, and no cosponsor momentum (only 1 cosponsor). The related bills S.3923 and H.R.3816 are broader weather authorization reauthorizations — neither is identical. Passage in the 119th Congress is uncertain. Actual radar replacement procurement is 5–10 years out even under an optimistic scenario.