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.

Two US Congress members are calling for bolstered cooperation with Israel to counter the threat posed by “killer drones” in the Middle East.

“Clearly, the United States must continue to ensure our troops and our allies including Israel are protected against enemy unmanned aerial systems,” Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Republican Congressman Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16) wrote in a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Tuesday.

Last November, Gottheimer and Gonzalez introduced a bill in the House of Representatives — titled the US-Israel Anti-Killer Drone Act — that was 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.”

“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,” Gottheimer stated at the time. “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.”