[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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