"The aid is yet another layer in the strengthening of defense ties between Israel and the U.S." Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement.
He added that the further development of anti-missile defense systems will "help Israel to better prepare for attacks against it, thus bolstering its security."
Earlier this year, the U.S. Congress approved a similar sum of money to assist the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in acquiring additional batteries of Iron Dome, a locally-developed system for intercepting short-range rockets.
The new fund will be channeled towards improving the performance of Arrow III, an interceptor of long-range ballistic missiles, and David`s Sling, an interceptor developed jointly with U.S. defense giant Raytheon for intermediate-range projectiles, according to the statement.
Both systems are scheduled to enter service in the IAF over the next two years.
The announcement of the U.S. decision came less than two weeks after Barak`s visit to Washington, during which he held talks with President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta allegedly on Iran`s nuclear program.
Following his trip, Barak said that Israeli-U.S. defense ties were "absolutely fine" and played down reported tensions between Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a related development, Israel`s defense budget received a boost of 200 million dollars last week, which raised the country`s military spending this year to a record high of nearly 16 billion dollars.
(U.C003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
