# House NDAA Draft Mandates Database of Contractors Used in Covert Operations

A new proposal included in the early stage draft of the fiscal 2026 defense policy bill aims to increase transparency and oversight of private contractors involved in clandestine military operations. The measure would require the Pentagon to create and maintain a comprehensive database of all commercial vendors participating in secret activities, a move aimed at reducing counterintelligence risks across the U.S. defense ecosystem.

The House Armed Services Committee's intelligence and special operations panel has listed this provision as part of the sweeping FY26 National Defense Authorization Act. However, the massive defense package is still undergoing markups, and congressional appropriators have not yet assigned it a spending value. The bill must also be reconciled with a separate draft in the Senate.

The proposed database, known as the "Clandestine Activities Vendor Database," would serve as a crucial tool for Congress to conduct oversight if conflicts, operational failures, or ethical concerns emerge around how private firms are used in clandestine missions. By creating and maintaining this internal list of contractor clients, the Pentagon hopes to facilitate deconfliction and risk assessment.

The use of shadow workforces of contractors has become increasingly prevalent within U.S. military and intelligence forces. These contractors often assist in areas like surveillance, cyber operations, and logistics for secret missions. Some operations fall under clandestine activities, while others are covert, where the U.S. involvement is fully obscured to avoid public scrutiny.

The new proposal codifies a formal, continuously updated database specifically focused on vendors supporting clandestine military activity, paired with mandated congressional reports. This could become one of the most robust military contractor oversight tools of its kind.

Past watchdog reports have called for more visibility into military contracting, but efforts to centralize that oversight have largely stalled. The Defense Contract Management Agency handles hundreds of thousands of contracts with the defense industrial base, while the National Industrial Security Program tracks companies with clearances to access sensitive facilities or computer systems.

The War on Terror shed light on the advent of private military contracting when firms like Blackwater took on frontline roles in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007, Blackwater contractors were implicated in the Nisour Square massacre, prompting scrutiny over the legal gray zones in which private forces operated on behalf of the U.S. government.

The proposed database would be exhaustive and could encompass clandestine operations conducted both physically and electronically. Lawmakers have recently pitched private sector operatives as potential tools for use in offensive cyber operations that target foreign adversaries like China and Russia.

For many years, hacking and surveillance capabilities have largely been undergirded by the private sector. The NSA and Cyber Command — a DOD combatant command — have relied on longstanding relationships with telecommunications providers to eavesdrop on conversations that cross the internet backbone. Many cyber threat intelligence providers also share data with the Defense Department and related national security units across the government.

# Key Points:

* The House Armed Services Committee's intelligence and special operations panel has listed a provision aimed at increasing transparency and oversight of private contractors involved in clandestine military operations. * The measure would require the Pentagon to create and maintain a comprehensive database of all commercial vendors participating in secret activities. * The proposed database, known as the "Clandestine Activities Vendor Database," could serve as a crucial tool for Congress to conduct oversight if conflicts or operational failures emerge around how private firms are used in clandestine missions.

# Conclusion:

The introduction of this new proposal highlights the growing need for increased transparency and accountability within the U.S. defense ecosystem. By creating and maintaining a comprehensive database of contractors involved in clandestine operations, the Pentagon can reduce counterintelligence risks and increase oversight. This move could also serve as a model for other countries to follow in their efforts to centralize contractor oversight.