Section 224 of H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act draft for fiscal year 2027, proposes an unprecedented level of integration between the US and Israeli military and defense industries.
Section 224, titled the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, “would require the Secretary of Defense to designate an executive agent responsible for synchronizing cooperative efforts between the United States and Israel, including bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, and industrial cooperation,” according to the draft text.
It would accomplish this by:
1) “identifying jointly developed or Israeli-origin technologies with operational utility for potential integration into United States systems and programs of record;”
2) “ensuring collaborative research initiatives involving government, private sector, and academic institutions in the United States and Israel, is done in a manner that protects sensitive technology and information and the national security interests of the United States and Israel;”
3) “facilitating the transition of technologies from research and development into procurement and acquisition pathways;”
4) “establishing frameworks for joint ventures, licensing agreements, and United States-based co-production or manufacturing partnerships with Israeli industry;”
5) “coordinating with relevant Department of Defense components…as appropriate, to align efforts and avoid duplication; and”
6) “promoting joint training exercises and information-sharing mechanisms to enhance operational readiness to deploy jointly developed technologies.”
These cooperative efforts would encompass “Counter-Unmanned Systems including aerial, maritime, and ground platforms,” anti-tunnelling and subterranean threats, missile and air defense technologies, artificial intelligence, “directed energy and advanced sensing,” cyber defense and electronic warfare, biotechnology, and defense industrial base cooperation, manufacturing, and co-production.
TITLE XII of the draft concerns “Matters Relating To Foreign Nations.” Subtitle C focuses on Israel specifically. Section 1221, titled “Extension of War Reserve Stockpile Authority for Israel,”
would extend the existing War Reserve Stockpile Authority for Israel, currently set to expire January 1, 2027, until January 1, 2029. This is a US stockpile physically located in Israel that enables quick transfer of missiles, bombs, artillery shells, and more to be used by the Israeli military or another foreign country, like Ukraine.
Sec. 1222 of the draft, “United States-Israel Subterranean Cooperation,” would “extend the authority for the Secretary of Defense to conduct collaborative research, development, testing, and evaluation of anti-tunnel capabilities with Israel through December 31, 2029.”
Sec. 1223, “United States-Israel Cooperation to Counter Unmanned Systems in All Warfighting Domains,” would “extend the authority for the Secretary of Defense to conduct collaborative research, development, testing, and evaluation of technologies to counter unmanned systems with Israel through December 31, 2029.”
If the provision in the NDAA to integrate/synchronize the U.S. and Israeli militaries (section 224) makes it out of committee, I’ll offer an amendment to strip it from the bill on the floor.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 30, 2026
We are a sovereign country.https://t.co/HwvSXXxKlW pic.twitter.com/2vIkjLatEE
According to the funding table included in H.R. 8800, the House has authorized up to $100 million “Israel Subterranean Cooperation,” another $100 million for the “Israel Counter US Program,” and $300 million for “ISRAELI COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS.”
Congressman Massie has vowed to offer an amendment to strip Section 224 from the bill if it makes it out of committee. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote, “This is what complete capture to a foreign government looks like and there hasn’t been a single shot fired.”
Colonel Douglas McGregor added that, “Congress is now attempting to LINK The US and Israeli military through the national Defense Authorization Act.”
Those defending Section 224 argue it is simply a continuation of existing cooperation between Israel and the United States.
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