On July 22, 2026, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, by a vote of 216–212. The legislation authorizes defense programs and funding levels but does not itself appropriate the money.
AIPAC described the House bill as authorizing $750 million for U.S.-Israel cooperative programs, $65 million more than the amount approved for FY2026. The funding tables provide:
- $500 million for cooperative missile defense: $300 million for research and development under “Israeli Cooperative Programs,” plus $150 million for Arrow 3 Upper Tier Systems, $30 million for Short Range Ballistic Missile Defense, and $20 million for Iron Dome procurement.
- $100 million for the Israel Counter UXS Program. AIPAC described this as funding for counter-drone systems; the bill uses “UXS,” referring more broadly to unmanned systems.
- $100 million for Israel Subterranean Cooperation.
- $50 million for Emerging Technology Cooperation.
The latter three amounts appear under the Defense Department’s Combating Terrorism Technology Support program.
United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative
Section 219 establishes the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative. It directs the Secretary of Defense to designate an executive agent to coordinate bilateral defense-technology research, development, testing and industrial cooperation.
The executive agent would identify jointly developed and Israeli-origin technologies with potential utility for U.S. military systems; coordinate research involving government, industry and academic institutions; help move technologies from research into procurement; and establish frameworks for joint ventures, licensing arrangements and U.S.-based co-production or manufacturing with Israeli companies. The section also provides for joint training and information sharing.
Authorized areas of cooperation include counter-unmanned systems; subterranean threats; missile and air defense; artificial intelligence, quantum technology and autonomous systems; directed energy and advanced sensing; cyber and electronic warfare; biotechnology and medical defense; military networks, data fusion and contested logistics; defense manufacturing and co-production; and other technologies agreed upon by the two countries.
The Pentagon must provide Congress an interim briefing within 180 days, annual implementation reports, and periodic public updates. The House adopted an amendment extending the annual-reporting requirement for as long as the executive agent remains designated. A second amendment deleted four specified uses of the word “integration” but did not eliminate Section 219 or remove every integration-related reference from it.
AIPAC said the initiative was modeled on the proposed U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act and that it had lobbied to preserve the provision. The initiative was numbered Section 224 in the Armed Services Committee version and Section 219 in the House floor text.
Other Israel provisions
Section 1221 extends the War Reserve Stockpile Authority for Israel from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2029.
Section 1222 changes the existing U.S.-Israel anti-tunnel program into a broader “subterranean cooperation” program. It expands the statutory language beyond tunnels to subterranean facilities, including bunkers and other underground targets, and extends the authority through 2029.
Section 1223 continues U.S.-Israel cooperation against unmanned systems through 2029.
Section 1707 authorizes the Secretary of Defense to establish a United States-Abraham Accords Defense Cooperation Initiative. Its objectives include deterring Iran and its proxies and developing regional cooperation in counter-drone capabilities, air and missile defense, intelligence, command and control, special operations, and joint military exercises.
The House also adopted amendments that:
- Call for Defense Department participation in international defense exhibitions to be conditioned on Israeli companies being allowed to participate without discriminatory restrictions.
- Direct the defense and state departments to oppose the enforcement of International Criminal Court warrants against the armed forces of the United States or its allies at NATO and Major Non-NATO Ally forums. This provision does not mention Israel by name.
- Require a U.S.-Israel-Egypt study of security measures along the Gaza-Egypt border, including a description and map of existing tunnels, to prevent weapons and illicit-goods smuggling by Hamas and other actors.
H.R. 8800 has passed only the House and was not law as of July 22, 2026. The Senate must act, and differences between the chambers’ bills must be resolved before legislation can be sent to the president.
Sources: “FY27 NDAA Floor Amendment Tracker,” House Armed Services Committee.
“AIPAC Applauds House Armed Services Committee for Including Key U.S.-Israel Defense Programs in FY27 NDAA,” AIPAC, (June 5, 2026), .
“Rules Committee Print 119-33,” House Committee on Rules, (June 11, 2026).
“Providing for Consideration of H.R. 8800,” H. Rept. 119-755, U.S. Government Publishing Office, (July 20, 2026).
“Newhouse Votes to Support Our Warfighters, Maintain Peace Through Strength,” Office of Representative Dan Newhouse, (July 22, 2026).