Today, Wednesday, November 13, 2019, Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16) introduced bipartisan legislation — the U.S.-Israel Anti-Killer Drone Act — to boost cooperation between the United States and our ally Israel in developing technology to counter ‘killer drones’ amid the ongoing drone war in the Middle East. The bipartisan legislation helps fill gaps identified by the U.S. Department of Defense by authorizing cooperative projects intended to thwart small unmanned aerial systems that threaten the U.S. and Israel.

“As we’ve seen this week, with Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s barrage of rockets from Gaza towards innocent civilians in Israel, our ally continues to face a barrage of terrorist attacks,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “This bipartisan legislation will authorize new projects to improve our ability to detect, jam, and disrupt unmanned aerial systems designed to hit a target, blow up on impact, and kill Americans and our allies. This bipartisan effort is vitally important to Israel’s security, our security, and America’s interests in the region. It’s key to our fight against terror.”

“The U.S. – Israel partnership on missile defense technology proved that our two countries have incredible capabilities to innovate and produce new security solutions when we work together – and these solutions ultimately benefit both our nations. Israel is unbelievably innovative as a country. Putting our skill sets together to develop new technology that will help keep both our nations safe makes sense as we move forward in a world of new threats related to the technological era,” said Congressman Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16).

This bipartisan legislation comes in response to the increasing threat of drone attacks in the Middle East. In August 2019, Israeli forces struck Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force and Iranian-backed militia facilities to thwart a planned drone attack on Israel. In February 2018, Iran launched an armed drone from Syria into Israeli airspace, which Israeli warplanes destroyed. On September 19, 2017, Israeli forces destroyed an Iranian supplied Hezbollah UAS over Syria.

View the bill text HERE.

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