Young, Rounds call for $500M to support U.S.-Israel cooperative defense

In order to meet the security needs of both the United States and Israel, U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) joined a bipartisan contingent of 42 lawmakers requesting that $500 million be included in the defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 2023 to fully fund the countries’ collaborative defense programs. 

The U.S.-Israel partnership has helped build and maintain a multi-tiered Israeli missile defense system made up of four types of missiles, as well as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The system can, and has, countered numerous missile threats from state and non-state adversaries in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and elsewhere, according to a May 20 letter the 44 lawmakers sent to U.S. Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

“Together, these programs confront the compelling challenges facing both Israel and the United States and represent the security-based and economic tenets of the enduring friendship of our nations,” they wrote. “As you begin work on the FY 2023 defense appropriations bill, we write seeking $500 million for continued support for these programs.”

Specifically, the missile defense system provides Israel with the ability to protect lives at home and on the battlefield, keeping its citizens and soldiers out of harm’s way, wrote the lawmakers, noting that another crucial area of importance to both countries is in the field of UAS and counter-UAS. 

“Iran and its proxies’ increased use and sales of UAS only heighten the importance of these systems,” wrote Sens. Young and Rounds and their colleagues. “The collaborative defense program has created an important flow of data to support U.S. service members in theater, U.S. missile defense technology, and our strategic ally, Israel.”

Additionally, these programs support vital elements of the industrial base and important jobs in the U.S. through co-development and co-production agreements, according to their letter, which says the $500 million “will continue critical work on research, development and test activities to counter hostile unmanned aerial systems.”