[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1802 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1802
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 1, 2023
Mr. Peters (for himself, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Budd, and Ms. Rosen)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
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 THE
UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(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 that 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,
entitled the ``Jerusalem U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership
Joint Declaration'', that reaffirms the steadfast commitment of
the United States to strengthening the self-defense capability
of Israel and to moving 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, which has
resulted 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,
which has resulted 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 to 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 have hosted a competition known
as the ``MOSAIC Challenge'' for the purpose of identifying
cutting-edge hardware and software solutions to address
challenging and longstanding technological gaps relating to
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 that may enable the development of the
warfare capabilities of the United States and Israel so as to meet
emerging defense challenges, including with respect to the areas of
artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, directed energy, and
automation.
(c) United States-Israel Warfare Research and Development Fund.--
(1) Establishment.--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 funds.--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 United
States Armed Forces and the military forces of Israel 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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