United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10796 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10796

  To direct the Secretary of Defense to designate an executive agent 
 responsible for synchronizing cooperative efforts between the United 
               States and Israel, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 13, 2026

  Mr. Bacon 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 direct the Secretary of Defense to designate an executive agent 
 responsible for synchronizing cooperative efforts between the United 
               States and Israel, 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 Defense 
Technology Cooperation Act''.

SEC. 2. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION INITIATIVE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense shall designate an 
executive agent, as such term is defined in Department of Defense 
Directive 5101.01 (relating to DoD Executive Agent, issued February 7, 
2022), responsible for synchronizing cooperative efforts between the 
United States and Israel, to expand and accelerate bilateral defense 
technology research, development, testing, evaluation, and industrial 
cooperation, by--
            (1) identifying jointly developed or Israeli-origin 
        technologies with operational utility for potential integration 
        into United States systems and programs of record;
            (2) ensuring collaborative research initiatives involving 
        government, private sector, and academic institutions in the 
        United States and Israel, is done in a manner that protects 
        sensitive technology and information and the national security 
        interests of the United States and Israel;
            (3) facilitating the transition of technologies from 
        research and development into procurement and acquisition 
        pathways;
            (4) establishing frameworks for joint ventures, licensing 
        agreements, and United States-based co-production or 
        manufacturing partnerships with Israeli industry;
            (5) coordinating with relevant Department of Defense 
        components, including the Irregular Warfare Technical Support 
        Directorate, capability development and innovation divisions, 
        the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, 
        the Defense Innovation Unit, the United States-Israel 
        Operations Technology Working Group, the Defense Advanced 
        Research Projects Agency, the Missile Defense Agency, the 
        United States Space Command, the military departments, and 
        other Department of Defense entities, as appropriate, to align 
        efforts and avoid duplication; and
            (6) promoting joint training exercises and information-
        sharing mechanisms to enhance operational readiness to deploy 
        jointly developed technologies.
    (b) Cooperative Efforts.--The synchronized cooperative efforts 
under subsection (a) may be carried out through the following domains:
            (1) Counter-Unmanned Systems including aerial, maritime, 
        and ground platforms.
            (2) Anti-tunneling and subterranean threats.
            (3) Missile and air defense technologies.
            (4) Artificial intelligence, quantum, machine learning, and 
        autonomous systems.
            (5) Directed energy and advanced sensing.
            (6) Cyber defense, electronic warfare, and digital 
        resilience.
            (7) Biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and medical defense.
            (8) Networks, data fusion, and contested logistics.
            (9) Defense industrial base cooperation, manufacturing, and 
        co-production.
            (10) Other emerging technologies as jointly agreed by the 
        United States and Israel.
    (c) Activities in Coordination With Other Federal Departments and 
Agencies.--The Secretary of Defense shall coordinate activities, as 
appropriate, with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, 
and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to 
ensure consistency with existing laws and regulations.
    (d) Interim Progress Update.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall provide 
to the congressional defense committees an interim briefing on--
            (1) the executive agent designated pursuant to subsection 
        (a) and the efforts undertaken by such executive agent to lead 
        Department of Defense implementation of the synchronized 
        cooperative efforts described in such subsection;
            (2) the status of coordination, Department-wide, with 
        Israeli counterparts;
            (3) initial technology areas identified for accelerated 
        cooperation and technologies with operational utility for 
        United States systems and programs of record; and
            (4) any early transition, prototyping, or integration 
        activities initiated during the period covered by the update.
    (e) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date on which 
there is no longer an executive agent designated under subsection (a), 
the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense 
committees a report on implementation of the cooperative efforts 
described in subsection (a). Each such report shall include--
            (1) a description of activities conducted;
            (2) an assessment of progress made in advancing shared 
        national security interests;
            (3) an assessment of collaboration with other relevant 
        Federal programs;
            (4) a description of technologies transitioned into United 
        States acquisition programs or fielded systems;
            (5) a description of partnerships established with United 
        States and Israeli industry; and
            (6) recommendations for future opportunities to promote the 
        long-term joint capabilities between the United States and 
        Israel.
    (f) Form.--Each report required under subsection (e) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form and may include a classified annex.
    (g) Public Transparency.--The Secretary of Defense shall make 
available on a publicly accessible website of the Department of Defense 
periodic, unclassified updates, to the maximum extent practicable, on 
the synchronized cooperative efforts carried out under subsection (a), 
including a description of how these efforts contribute to United 
States technological and military supremacy. Such updates shall be made 
in a manner that ensures that classified information or other 
information that would compromise operational security, export 
controls, or sensitive technology are not released.
    (h) Congressional Defense Committees Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``congressional defense committees'' has the meaning given that 
term in section 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code.
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