In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said the two allies should replace what he described as ‘one-sided aid’ with bilateral investment in advanced military technologies.
“I’m calling it from aid to partnership,” Netanyahu said. “We take away the money that is given to Israel… but the other part is we invest, co-invest in equal measures in the new technologies that are needed to give our military and your military the advantage.”
He said the two countries should jointly fund defence projects and share the resulting technologies equally.
Intelligence and technology ties in focus
Netanyahu said Israel already contributes significantly to US security through intelligence sharing and defence technology, arguing that cooperation between the two countries extends beyond financial assistance.
He said closer collaboration in military technology would strengthen both countries’ defence capabilities as well as their competitiveness in advanced technologies.
“Our technology is incredible,” he said, adding that combining Israeli and American technological expertise would benefit both nations.
Netanyahu’s remarks come months after US lawmakers began considering legislation that could deepen defence technology cooperation between the United States and Israel.
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In May, the House Armed Services Committee included the United States-Israel Defence Technology Cooperation Initiative as Section 224 of its version of the fiscal year 2027 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA).
The proposal would require the US defence secretary to appoint an executive agent to coordinate military cooperation between the two countries, including joint research and development, shared weapons production, and the integration of military systems and data.
If enacted, the measure would expand existing cooperation beyond programmes such as the Iron Dome missile defence system into areas including artificial intelligence, drones and cyber operations.
The proposal remains under consideration as part of the annual defence policy bill and has not been enacted into law.
