An Iron Dome battery fires an interceptor missile as rockets are launched from Gaza toward Israel near the southern city of Sderot, Aug. 9, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Amir Cohen.

Legislation seeking bolstered collaboration with Israel in countering the threat posed by “killer drones” in the Middle East was introduced in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The bill is intended to “fill gaps identified by the US Department of Defense by authorizing cooperative projects intended to thwart small unmanned aerial systems that threaten the US and Israel,” a statement published by Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16) said.

Gottheimer noted, “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. 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.”

Gonzalez said, “The US-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.”