A pair of senators and a House lawmaker will introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation on Thursday aimed at boosting U.S.-Israeli cooperation on bilateral defense programs.

The United States-Israel Framework for Upgraded Technologies, Unified Research, and Enhanced Security Act of 2026, abbreviated to the United States-Israel FUTURES Act, will be introduced in the Senate by Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and in the House by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX). The bill establishes a cooperative initiative focused on accelerating and expanding bilateral defense technology research, development, testing and evaluation projects, as well as supporting industrial cooperation. 

The U.S. and Israel have worked together for years on bilateral defense and technology programs, most notably U.S.-Israel cooperative missile-defense programs — including Iron Dome, which offers protection against drones and short-range surface-to-surface rockets; David’s Sling, which can intercept short-to-medium- and medium-to-long-range surface-to-surface missiles fired from 62 to 124 miles away; and the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 systems, which can intercept longer-range ballistic missiles. Another is the anti-tunneling and counter-unmanned aerial systems programs.

“The U.S. has a long history of working with our ally Israel on defense programs to counter unmanned aerial systems from our adversaries, strengthen missile defense, and detect and neutralize underground tunnels threatening the security of our two respective countries,” Budd told Jewish Insider in a statement on the bill. 

“The U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act offers an opportunity to strengthen existing bilateral programs by advancing joint investments such as emerging technologies, defense industrial base cooperation, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology initiatives,” his statement continued. “I am proud to be working with Sen. Gillibrand to advance regional security in the Middle East and strengthen U.S. and Israeli defense.”

Gillibrand told JI, “This bipartisan initiative will enable long-term collaboration on shared security goals between the United States and our vital democratic ally Israel. We must strengthen our military and technological capabilities to counter continued and future threats in the region.”

Jackson told JI that the bill “secures America’s competitive edge in defense technology and reinforces our alliance with Israel, our greatest partner in the Middle East, to deter evolving global threats.” 

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are ensuring the technological supremacy of our military and delivering the unmatched capabilities our warfighters need to dominate the battlefield and protect the American people,” Jackson said.