From ‘star wars’ to ‘iron dome’: Us support of Israel’s missile defense systems

A major manifestation of the ‘Special Relationship’ that characterizes American–Israeli relations is the cooperation and the vast American investment in Israeli security. A central chapter in this relationship is the American contribution to the development and the establishment of the Israeli defense industries, one of the world’s leading defense industries and especially to the development of the Israeli multi-level anti-missile systems. The Reagan administration’s foreign policy viewed Israel as a strategic partner, not just as an ally or a burden. Israel’s inclusion in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) programme helped propel Israel into becoming one of the world’s leading technology developers and top-tier defense manufacturers in the world. The relationship between Israel and the United States that has evolved since the Reagan administration’s change in strategy in the 1980s, influenced and aided in creating a highly sophisticated defense industry in Israel. Since then, that industry has produced numerous technologically advanced defense products with special emphasis on the indigenously developed, and now cooperatively produced, Iron Dome Missile Defense (MD) system.