[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4709 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4709

 To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, 
to make improvements relating to cooperation between the United States 
 and Israel to counter unmanned aerial systems, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 18, 2023

 Mr. Gottheimer (for himself, Mr. Garbarino, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Crow, Mr. 
   Davis of North Carolina, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Golden of Maine, Mr. 
  Goldman of New York, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. James, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. 
Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Kean of New Jersey, Mr. 
   LaLota, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Mace, Mr. Mast, Mr. Meuser, Mr. Nickel, Mr. 
  Peters, Mr. Rutherford, Ms. Scholten, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. 
Smith of Missouri, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Torres 
of New York, Mr. Trone, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, 
 Mr. Wenstrup, Mr. Westerman, Ms. Wild, and Mr. D'Esposito) introduced 
   the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
 Services, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, 
to make improvements relating to cooperation between the United States 
 and Israel to counter unmanned aerial systems, 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 ``U.S.-Israel Anti-Killer Drone Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO UNITED STATES-ISRAEL COOPERATION TO 
              COUNTER UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The growing arsenal of unmanned aerial systems of Iran 
        includes--
                    (A) unmanned aerial systems that engage in 
                intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and
                    (B) armed unmanned aerial systems capable of 
                striking battlefield targets, including loitering 
                munitions, also known as ``suicide drones'' or ``one-
                way attack drones''.
            (2) Iran-origin unmanned aerial systems represent a threat 
        to the Armed Forces and facilities of the United States in the 
        Middle East, as well as to United States allies and partners 
        such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
            (3) In February 2018, Iran allegedly launched an armed 
        unmanned aerial vehicle from Syria into Israeli airspace which 
        was ultimately destroyed by Israeli warplanes.
            (4) In September 2019, Iran launched cruise missiles and 
        loitering munitions at key oil installations in Saudi Arabia.
            (5) Throughout the takeover of Yemen by the Houthi, 
        beginning in 2014 and continuing into the present, the Islamic 
        Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds-Force, the al-Ghadir Missile 
        Command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace 
        Force, and the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad organization 
        of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has supported the 
        capabilities of Yemeni rebels, including through the provision 
        of unmanned aerial systems and other relevant technology, such 
        as cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. Such support enables 
        the Houthis to routinely strike civilian targets in both Saudi 
        Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
            (6) In January 2021, Iran-backed Shiite militia groups in 
        Iraq launched armed unmanned aerial vehicles at Saudi Arabia.
            (7) In March 2021, Iran attempted to send two delta-wing 
        unmanned aerial vehicles toward Israel which were ultimately 
        downed by Israeli warplanes over the territory of an 
        undisclosed Arab country.
            (8) In July 2021, Iran launched an attack employing 
        unmanned aerial vehicles, including loitering munitions against 
        a Liberian-flagged, Israeli-operated tanker, ``M/T Mercer 
        Street'', near the coast of Oman that killed two people, a 
        British and a Romanian national.
            (9) On March 27 and 28, 2022, Secretary of State Blinken 
        met in Israel with counterparts from the governments of Israel, 
        Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco to 
        promote normalization in the region and declared, ``Our 
        commitment to the core principle that Iran can never acquire a 
        nuclear weapon is unwavering. One way or another, we will 
        continue to cooperate closely.''.
            (10) In May 2022, Iran inaugurated an unmanned aerial 
        system factory in Tajikistan to manufacture and export the 
        Ababil-2, a multipurpose unmanned aerial system with 
        reconnaissance, combat, and suicide capabilities.
            (11) On June 2, 2022, Iran-backed Hezbollah sent three 
        unmanned aerial vehicles toward the Israeli-controlled Karish 
        gas field, one of which was intercepted by an F-16 fighter jet, 
        and two of which were intercepted by Barak 8 missiles launched 
        from the Sa'ar 5-class corvette ``INS Eilat''.
            (12) On July 2, 2022, the Israeli military reportedly shot 
        down three unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Hezbollah in 
        the vicinity of where an Israeli gas platform had been recently 
        installed in the Mediterranean Sea.
            (13) On July 14, 2022, the United States and Israel adopted 
        the Joint Declaration on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership, 
        reaffirming the unbreakable bonds between the two countries and 
        the enduring commitment of the United States to the security of 
        Israel.
            (14) In late August 2022, Iran reportedly sent its first 
        batch of Shahed-136 unmanned aerial systems to Russia for use 
        against Ukraine. While Russia is rebranding these systems the 
        Geran-2, United States officials revealed the agreement in the 
        summer of 2022.
            (15) On September 12, 2022, Brigadier General Kioumars 
        Heydari, who heads the ground forces of the Armed Forces of 
        Iran, announced that the Armed Forces of Iran had developed the 
        Arash-2 unmanned aerial system specifically designed to attack 
        Tel Aviv and Haifa.
            (16) On November 13, 2022, and on February 10, 2023, Iran-
        origin unmanned aerial systems allegedly targeted Israeli-owned 
        oil tankers off the coast of Oman.
            (17) On February 14, 2023, United States forces in Syria 
        reportedly shot down an Iran-origin unmanned aerial vehicle 
        surveilling United States positions around oil facilities.
            (18) On November 1, 2021, the Secretary of Defense and the 
        Defense Minister of Israel signed a memorandum of understanding 
        establishing the United States-Israel Operations Technology-
        Working Group, which includes six sub-working groups, including 
        sub-working groups focused on countering unmanned aerial 
        systems and directed energy capabilities.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United 
States should--
            (1) enhance ongoing cooperation with Israel in researching, 
        developing, and fielding, as expeditiously as possible, 
        mutually beneficial technologies and capabilities to counter 
        unmanned aerial systems, for the purpose of addressing common 
        military requirements and growing threats;
            (2) exchange with Israel information about the evolving 
        threat of Iran-origin unmanned aerial systems; and
            (3) use the United States-Israel Operations-Technology 
        Working Group established pursuant to section 1299M(c) of the 
        National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public 
        Law 116-283; 134 Stat. 4014), or any successor working group, 
        as the epicenter of such efforts.
    (c) Report on United States-Israel Cooperation to Counter Unmanned 
Aerial Systems.--Section 1278 of the National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1702; 22 U.S.C. 8606 
note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(4), by striking ``$40,000,000'' and 
        inserting ``$55,000,000'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections 
        (g) and (h), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
        subsections:
    ``(e) Report on Status of Cooperation and Certain Iranian Threat.--
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report containing the following:
            ``(1) An assessment of the status of cooperation between 
        the United States and Israel on countering unmanned aerial 
        systems, including an assessment of--
                    ``(A) capabilities to counter unmanned aerial 
                systems under research and development;
                    ``(B) capabilities to counter unmanned aerial 
                systems that have been fielded to the Armed Forces of 
                the United States or Israel pursuant to this section;
                    ``(C) proposed changes to authorizations, 
                appropriations, or other provisions of law that would 
                result in more effective capabilities to counter 
                unmanned aerial systems and expedite the provision to 
                the Armed Forces of the United States and Israel of 
                capabilities to counter unmanned aerial systems; and
                    ``(D) the extent to which the United States-Israel 
                Operations-Technology Working Group established 
                pursuant to section 1299M(c) of the National Defense 
                Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-
                283; 134 Stat. 4014), or any successor working group, 
                is being used to carry out the activities described in 
                subsection (a)(1).
            ``(2) An assessment of the threat to the United States and 
        Israel posed by unmanned aerial systems from Iran and 
        associated proxies of Iran, including an assessment of deployed 
        or otherwise available anti-unmanned aircraft capabilities of 
        the United States and Israel and the adequacy of such 
        capabilities to offset such threat.
    ``(f) Unmanned Aerial System Defined.--In this section, the term 
`unmanned aerial system' includes loitering munitions.''.
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