[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1777 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1777
To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a fund for the conduct
of collaborative defense projects between the United States and Israel
in emerging technologies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 24, 2023
Mr. Wilson of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Golden of Maine, Mr.
Lamborn, Mr. Crow, Mr. Turner, and Mr. Ryan) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a fund for the conduct
of collaborative defense projects between the United States and Israel
in emerging technologies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``United States-Israel Future of
Warfare Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FUND FOR CONDUCT OF COLLABORATIVE DEFENSE PROJECTS BETWEEN
UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The strategic partnership between the United States and
Israel is mutually beneficial, reinforcing shared moral values
and security interests while promoting peace and regional
stability.
(2) A strong strategic relationship between the United
States and Israel, and enhanced bilateral cooperation between
such countries in defense, homeland security, cybersecurity,
space, and other key areas, ensure both countries can confront
current and future emerging defense challenges.
(3) Israel is a global leader and innovator in the
development of defense technology and is one of the closest
foreign defense partners of the United States.
(4) On September 14, 2016, the United States and Israel
signed a 10-year memorandum of understanding reaffirming the
importance of continuing annual United States military
assistance to Israel (and other defense programs in areas such
as missile defense, counter tunneling, and counter-unmanned
aircraft systems) in a way that enhances the security of Israel
and strengthens the bilateral relationship between the two
countries.
(5) On July 12, 2022, President Joe Biden and former
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid committed to elevating the
strategic partnership between the United States and Israel to
new heights by launching the Strategic High-Level Dialogue on
Technology, tasked with establishing a technological
partnership between the United States and Israel with respect
to critical and emerging technologies and solutions to global
challenges.
(6) On July 14, 2022, President Joe Biden and former
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed a joint declaration
titled the ``Jerusalem U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint
Declaration'' reaffirming the steadfast commitment of the
United States to strengthen the self-defense capability of
Israel and to ``move forward the U.S.-Israel defense
partnership through cooperation in cutting-edge defense
technologies such as high energy laser weapons systems to
defend the skies of Israel and in the future those of other
U.S. and Israel security partners''.
(7) Since 2016, Congress has appropriated $320,000,000 for
counter-tunneling cooperation between the United States
(specifically the Irregular Warfare Technical Support
Directorate of the Department of Defense) and Israel, resulting
in the development of counter-tunnel technology that enhances
the capability of the United States and Israel to deal with
tunnel threats at the borders of such countries and elsewhere.
(8) Since 2020, Congress has appropriated $88,000,000 for
counter-unmanned aircraft systems cooperation between the
United States (specifically the Irregular Warfare Technical
Support Directorate of the Department of Defense) and Israel,
resulting in the co-development of counter-unmanned aircraft
systems for use by the United States Armed Forces, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Secret Service.
(9) In January 2023, the Irregular Warfare Technical
Support Directorate of the Department of Defense awarded Israel
Aerospace Industries a multi-million dollar contract to rapidly
develop and deliver a loitering munition known as ``ROC-X'' to
provide ground-based tactical forces with more precise
capabilities and improve the safety and security of United
States warfighters.
(10) Over the last few years, the Irregular Warfare
Technical Support Directorate of the Department of Defense and
the Directorate of Defense Research and Engineering of the
Ministry of Defense of Israel hosted a competition known as the
``MOSAIC Challenge'', seeking cutting-edge hardware and
software solutions to address some of the challenging and
longstanding technological gaps concerning remote autonomous
indoor maneuverability.
(b) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to
support and encourage further defense collaboration with Israel in
areas of emerging technologies capable of enabling the warfare
capabilities of both the United States and Israel to meet emerging
defense challenges, including with respect to the areas of artificial
intelligence, cybersecurity, directed energy, and automation.
(c) Establishment of Fund.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish a
fund, to be known as the ``United States-Israel Future of
Warfare Research and Development Fund'' (in this section
referred to as the ``Fund'').
(2) Use of amounts.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available
for the conduct of collaborative defense projects between the
United States and Israel in areas of emerging technologies
(including artificial intelligence, automation, cybersecurity,
and directed energy) for the purpose of enabling the Armed
Forces of the United States and of Israel, respectively, to
meet emerging defense challenges.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Fund $50,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2024 through 2028.
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