Israel’s Iron Dome To Receive More Funds From The Pentagon

The Pentagon has requested $220.3 million in 2014 to bolster Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, according to budget documents.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency also is asking for an additional $175.9 million in fiscal 2015 for Israel’s homegrown missile defense network. The Pentagon already invested $204 million in the system in 2011 and $70 million in 2012.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel promised in talks in March with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, that Washington would continue to fund anti-missile weaponry, including Iron Dome, despite fiscal pressures.

The Republican majority in the House of Representatives in May 2012 called for additional funding of roughly $680 million for the Iron Dome program.

U.S. military assistance to Israel comes to about $3 billion a year to ensure the country’s qualitative military edge in the region. Also Israel has spent a billion dollars on the development and production of Iron Dome batteries.