The US House of Representatives has released its proposal for the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), redirecting $50 million in Israel-related defense funding from short-range rocket interception to ballistic missile defense, reported JNS.
The bill, unveiled Sunday, allocates $60 million for the US-Israeli Iron Dome program, down from $110 million in 2025. Instead, $100 million will be directed to Arrow 3, the upper-tier interceptor designed to destroy ballistic missiles outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
Funding for David’s Sling, which counters intermediate-range rockets and missiles, remains steady at $40 million. The shift highlights the perceived growing threat from Iranian and Houthi ballistic missiles compared to rockets and mortars fired by Hamas and Hezbollah.
Annual NDAA allocations for these programs are far smaller than the $500 million Israel typically receives under the 2016 10-year memorandum of understanding through the US foreign aid bill.
Other Israel-related provisions in the 3,086-page defense package include $80 million for anti-tunneling cooperation - up from $30 million last year - and $70 million for a U.S.-Israel program to counter unmanned systems. That program, previously limited to aerial vehicles, did not receive a line item in 2025.
The overall defense package totals about $901 billion, $8 billion more than requested by the Trump administration.