Pentagon Chief Confirms US Will Replenish Israel’s Iron Dome

Administration already endorsed planned $1 billion funding

Speaking to the Senate today, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the US is planning to send a budget request to Congress to pay for a new round of Iron Dome systems for Israel. Israel used virtually all of their existing systems during this summer’s recent war on Gaza.

President Biden and US State Department officials had initially reported this during Israeli diplomatic visits, saying this would be in the form of a $1 billion funding request, expected to be broadly supported by both parties in Congress.

Israel has long hyped the effectiveness of the Iron Dome at intercepting very short-range, low-yield rockets. There has been some debate as to whether Israel’s printed success figures are accurate or overstated. Either way, the US has been more than willing to pay for the program.

Austin did not indicate when the request for funding will come, but Israel is likely to push for it soon, as they are already watching tensions with the Gaza Strip rise again, and some Israeli military officials have talked up more fighting to come.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.