{"id":14509,"date":"2018-08-13T17:59:53","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T17:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/13\/new-defense-budget-bill-foresees-us-israel-counter-drone-cooperation\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:54:12","slug":"new-defense-budget-bill-foresees-us-israel-counter-drone-cooperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2018\/08\/13\/new-defense-budget-bill-foresees-us-israel-counter-drone-cooperation\/","title":{"rendered":"New defense budget bill foresees US-Israel counter-drone cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

JERUSALEM \u2014 For the first time, the National Defense Authorization Act includes a section on U.S.-Israel cooperation in countering unmanned aerial systems, in the fiscal 2019 version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cooperation will identify \u201ccapability gaps\u201d of the U.S. and Israel in countering UAVs and seek out projects to address those gaps to strengthen U.S. and Israeli security. The new cooperation envisions funding for research and development efforts and identifying costs that foresee close cooperation modeled on previous successful programs that Israel and the U.S. have collaborated on, including missile defense and anti-tunneling initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel and the U.S. have been at the forefront of air defense cooperation for decades. U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist and Mike Johnson introduced in February a bill titled \u201cUnited States-Israel Joint Drone Detection Cooperation Act.\u201d Parts of the bill were included in the NDAA passed in both houses of Congress in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am honored to have our bill included in the NDAA and to see it signed into law by President [Donald] Trump. This is an important step not only for our strongest ally in the Middle East but for the United States as well,\u201d Johnson said in July. The president signed the NDAA into law on the afternoon of Aug. 13.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative foresees \u201cjoint research and development to counter unmanned aerial vehicles [which] will serve the national security interests of the United States and Israel.\u201d Included as Section 1272 of the final NDAA presented to the president on Aug. 3, the cooperation contains five parts, including identification of the capability gaps that exist, identifying cooperative projects that would address the gaps, assessing the costs of the research and development, and assessing the costs of procuring and fielding the capabilities developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports on the cooperation will be submitted to the congressional defense committees, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The threat of drones has increased in recent years. On Feb. 10 an Iranian-made drone entered Israeli airspace near the northern town of Beit Shean. It had flown from the T4 air base in Syria. Israel identified and tracked the drone from Syria and sent an Apache helicopter to shoot it down. The drone was revealed to be armed with explosives.<\/p>\n\n\n\t