United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018

United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018

This bill extends security assistance to Israel. Specifically, it extends:

• foreign military financing assistance to Israel through FY2028,
• loan guarantees through FY2023, and
• authority for the war reserves stockpile through FY2023.

The President may:

• enter into a cooperative agreement with Israel for research and joint production of anti-drone defense articles;
• conduct a joint assessment with Israel regarding which precision guided munitions Israel needs in a sustained armed confrontation with Hezbollah, Hamas, or other groups; and
• transfer precision guided munitions and defense articles to such stockpile.

The bill directs the Department of Defense to provide for the rapid acquisition and deployment of precision guided munitions for U.S. counterterrorism missions or to assist an ally under missile threat from a terrorist organization or a country that supports international terrorism.

The President shall report to Congress describing the steps taken to include Israel in the list of countries eligible for the strategic trade authorization exception. Such exception allows a controlled item to be exported without a transaction-specific license.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall continue to work with the Israel Space Agency to pursue peaceful space exploration and science initiatives.

The bill also requires the periodic reports on Israel's qualitative military edge to include information about Israel's ability to defend itself from regional state and non-state actors and from drone, cyber, and asymmetric threats.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov