S.Amdt. 3425

SA 3425. Ms. ERNST submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
her to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1265. MIDDLE EAST DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
COOPERATION INITIATIVE.

(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Defense Innovation Community of
Entities, shall establish an initiative to cooperate with
defense innovation partners in the Middle East for the
purpose of developing a strong international community of
defense innovation entities among such partners--
(1) to create opportunities to procure the best of
commercial technology from international companies, including
such companies located in countries that are defense
innovation partners in the Middle East, so as to meet the
needs of warfighters that are such partners;
(2) to develop interoperable solutions compatible with
capabilities of the United States and such partners;
(3) to build defense technology and defense innovation
capacity in the United States and in countries that are such
partners;
(4) to mature and expand the reach and impact of the
innovation ecosystems within and among such partners;
(5) to strengthen the collective defense innovation bases
and security posture of the United States and such partners
through co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment
opportunities; and

[[Page S5222]]

(6) to implement other partnerships, as the Secretary of
Defense considers necessary.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the initiative established
under subsection (a) is to address--
(1) shared challenges facing the United States and defense
innovation partners in the Middle East from--
(A) the Islamic Republic of Iran;
(B) Iran-backed terrorist threats, including Hamas, the
Houthis, and Hezbollah; and
(C) any other violent extremist organization within the
area of responsibility of the United States Central Command;
and
(2) any other such shared challenge, as determined by the
Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the commander of
the United States Central Command and the Defense Innovation
Community of Entities.
(c) Focus.--The initiative established under subsection (a)
shall focus on the following capabilities:
(1) Unmanned systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles,
unmanned underwater vehicles, and unmanned surface vehicles.
(2) Capabilities to counter unmanned systems, including
kinetic, high-power microwave, and directed energy
capabilities.
(3) Advanced intelligence and its defense applications.
(4) Any other capability necessary to resolve the shared
challenges described in subsection (b), as determined by the
Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the commander of
the United States Central Command and the Defense Innovation
Community of Entities.
(d) Exploratory Defense Innovation Partnerships.--
(1) In general.--To implement the initiative established
under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Defense Innovation Community of
Entities, shall seek to enter into exploratory defense
innovation partnerships with defense innovation partners in
the Middle East.
(2) Exploratory defense innovation partnerships defined.--
In this subsection, the term ``exploratory defense innovation
partnership'' means a partnership that involves the following
collaborative activities between the United States and
defense innovation partners in the Middle East:
(A) Convening events focused on defense innovation, with
participation of representatives of government, industry, and
investors of the United States and defense innovation
partners in the Middle East.
(B) Information exchanges between the United States and
defense innovation partners in the Middle East to share best
practices with respect to the acquisition of commercial
technology that meets the needs of warfighters.
(C) Meetings to share lessons learned on rapidly
prototyping, experimenting, and scaling innovative defense
solutions during an ongoing military conflict.
(D) Any other collaborative activity to improve and
integrate the defense innovation base of the United States
and defense innovation partners in the Middle East.
(e) Determination on Entering in Mature Defense Innovation
Partnerships.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Defense Innovation Community of
Entities, shall issue a determination as to whether it is
feasible for the United States to enter into a mature defense
innovation partnership described in paragraph (2).
(2) Mature defense innovation partnerships described.--A
mature defense innovation partnership described in this
paragraph may include--
(A) the signing of a memorandum of understanding or defense
innovation cooperation agreement between or among the United
States and 1 or more defense innovation partners in the
Middle East to facilitate joint defense innovation;
(B) the implementation of liaison officer exchange programs
to deepen the integration of defense innovation efforts of
the United States and 1 or more defense innovation partners
in the Middle East;
(C) the implementation of commercial opportunities
programming, including--
(i) prize challenges;
(ii) dual-use accelerators; and
(iii) educational series; and
(D) the solicitation, through commercial solutions
openings, of innovative defense solutions from companies
located within the country of 1 or more defense innovation
partners in the Middle East.
(3) Consideration.--The Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Defense Innovation Community of
Entities, shall make the determination required by paragraph
(1) based on the following considerations:
(A) An evaluation as to the whether the implementation of
exploratory defense innovation partnership described in
subsection (d) has served the interests of United States
national security.
(B) An assessment of potential benefits and risks to United
States national security interests from pursuing mature
defense innovation partnerships described in paragraph (2).
(C) An evaluation as to whether the pursuit of such a
mature defense innovation partnership will unacceptably
reduce the ability of the Defense Innovation Community of
Entities to pursue defense innovation partnerships with
allies and partners in the areas of responsibility of the
United States Europe Command and the United States Indo-
Pacific Command.
(D) Any other matter the Secretary of Defense considers
relevant.
(4) Revision.--In the case of a determination under
paragraph (1) that it is not feasible to enter into a mature
defense innovation partnership described in paragraph (2),
the Secretary of Defense may, at any time if circumstances
have changed to make such a partnership feasible, revise such
determination and enter into such a partnership.
(f) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Defense Innovation Community of
Entities, shall submit to Committees on Armed Services of the
Senate and the House of Representatives a report that
includes--
(1) a description of the implementation of the exploratory
defense innovation partnerships described in subsection (d);
and
(2) the determination required by subsection (e) and a
justification for such determination.
(g) Defense Innovation Partners in the Middle East
Defined.--The term ``defense innovation partners in the
Middle East'' means the following:
(1) Israel.
(2) The United Arab Emirates.
(3) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
(4) Each country within the area of responsibility of the
United States Central Command that is selected by the
Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the commander of
the United States Central Command and the Defense Innovation
Community of Entities, as an ideal partner for collaboration
in the area of defense innovation.
(h) Protection of Intellectual Property.--The Secretary of
Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce,
shall take all necessary steps to ensure the protection of
the intellectual properties of United States companies that
participate in the initiative described in subsection (a)
from foreign actors.
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