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| Iron Dome in action |
(Scroll down for video) Israel will receive hundreds of millions in additional funding in order to improve the operation of its Iron Dome missile defense system, according to a statement released by the Pentagon.
The Pentagon has requested an additional $220.3 million for 2014 to strengthen the missile defense system "Iron Dome" of Israel despite wider cuts to U.S. military spending, according to budget documents.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is also requesting an additional $175.9 million in fiscal year 2015 for Israel’s homegrown missile defense network, according to the budget proposal published online by the agency.
The Pentagon has invested $204 million into the system in 2011 and $70 million in 2012.
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has promised that Washington will continue to fund anti-missile weapons systems, including the Iron Dome, despite fiscal pressures.
The details of the budget were made public before the planned visit by Hagel to Israel next week, his first as defense secretary.
The Republican majority in the House of Representatives in May 2012 requested additional funding of approximately $680 million for the Iron Dome program.
“This is great news for Israel and the U.S., as the Pentagon is confident the the Iron Dome, is a system that really makes a difference. This news comes as a relief, as several reports recently have questioned the effectiveness of the Iron Dome,” Dwight Green of Washington D.C. told YourJewishNews.com after learning about the funding.
The U.S. military aid to Israel amounts to about $3 billion a year to ensure a "qualitative military edge" of the country in the region, as required by law.
For its part, Israel has spent $1 billion dollars in the development and production of Iron Dome batteries.
Israeli officials said that the Iron Dome program was successful in battle.
In the video below, you can see the Iron Dome in action shooting down multiple incoming missiles.Mobile video not loading? Click here to view