Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Program

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) funds two programs managed by the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation: BIRD Homeland Security (HLS), a joint initiative established in 2015 with the Israel Ministry of National Security (IMNS); and BIRD Cyber, launched in 2022 in partnership with the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD). Both BIRD HLS and BIRD Cyber support collaborative U.S.-Israeli research and development to advance innovative homeland security technologies of mutual benefit to both countries.

BIRD HLS

BIRD HLS supports collaboration between U.S. and Israeli companies, academia, and other research institutions to develop advanced technologies for homeland security needs. The program provides conditional grants of up to $1 million for approved projects, funding up to 50 percent of the joint project budget, to advance solutions with commercial potential to improve public security.

Since 2015, DHS S&T and IMNS have partnered to fund technology collaboration between U.S. and Israeli R&D projects with significant commercial potential to address the homeland security needs of both countries. 

BIRD HLS 2023 Awards

Three joint U.S.-Israeli projects were selected by DHS S&T and IMNS and approved by the BIRD Foundation Board of Governors to receive awards in response to the 2023 BIRD HLS Call for Proposals. The grantees and their innovative technology solutions are:

• Data Blanket (Bellevue, Washington) and NextVision Stabilized Systems (Raanana, Israel) will develop an airborne sensors and computer vision system for wildfire suppression and real-time situation awareness in HLS and disaster response applications.
• Inspire Labs (New York, New York) and Validit.ai (Haifa, Israel) will develop a real-time biofeedback-based fraud detection platform for HLS-wide field deployment.
• Point Security (Lexington, North Carolina) and NeuralGuard (Netanya, Israel) will develop an AI auto detection system of improvised explosive devices for X-ray.

 More information about BIRD HLS and awards can be found on the BIRD Foundation website.

BIRD Cyber

BIRD Cyber, a joint initiative of DHS S&T and INCD, supports collaborative projects between U.S. and Israeli entities to develop advanced cybersecurity applications for mission-critical homeland security needs. The program provides grants of up to $1.5 million per project, funding up to 50 percent of the combined research and development budget. 

BIRD Cyber launched in 2022 with the release of the program’s first Call for Proposals seeking cooperative U.S.-Israeli projects to enhance the cyber resilience of vulnerable critical infrastructure in both the United States and Israel.

BIRD Cyber Awards

Four projects were selected for award by DHS S&T and INCD, and approved by the BIRD Foundation Board of Governors, completing the first solicitation cycle of the BIRD Cyber program. The joint U.S.-Israeli projects approved for funding include:  

• Trend Micro (Irving, Texas) and Rescana (Tel Aviv, Israel) will develop an operational cyber threat intelligence capability to inform cyber risk maritime decision-making;
• Bastazo (Fayetteville, Arkansas) and Salvador Technologies (Rehovot, Israel) will develop a solution for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) vulnerability management, monitoring, and rapid recovery from cyber-attacks;
• A platform for airports and air traffic that will provide continuous cyber visibility, real-time monitoring, and data traffic detection to minimize risks and boost compliance with regulations; and
   
• An airport cyber protection solution across the entire attack surface.