The US may provide up to $2bn in military aid for Israel to build tanks and armoured personnel carriers, US army documents reveal.

Documents reported by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper on Monday showed that a new armoured vehicle plant being built in the country could be financed by its top military aid benefactor. 

If so, it would boost the US’s annual aid budget of $3.8bn to Israel – part of a ten-year agreement. 

Over a five-year period, Israel’s “Armored Vehicle Acceleration Project” plans to increase its armoured vehicle inventory while also increasing production rates of Merkava tanks and armoured personnel carriers used by the Israeli military, such as the Namer and Eitan, which were both developed in Israel.

The Israeli government’s ministerial panel for defence procurement approved the project in August during Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.  

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Haaretz cited two US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) presentations from October and November indicating that the US is likely to be involved in financing, planning, design, and construction of the project.

USACE presentations dating back to October said it would be involved in the “planning, design and construction” of the “Joint Systems Manufacturing Center” for the armoured vehicle acceleration project. Another one from November said, “We are exploring the potential for a multibillion-dollar Joint Systems Manufacturing Center (JSMC) project, which could be a pivotal next step for the program.” 

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The USACE performs technical, engineering, and construction projects for US allies and international organisations, often funded by American aid.

At the time, the project was estimated to cost $1.5 billion, and The Jerusalem Post reported that none of the announcements mentioned any foreign financing.

In addition to $3.8bn annually, the US has also provided $21.7bn in direct military aid to Israel in the two years after the 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel and the war on Gaza, according to the Quincy Institute.

This figure does not include the tens of billions of dollars in arms sales agreements committed for weapons and services that will be paid for and delivered in the years ahead, estimated by the Costs of War Project at Brown University to be around $10bn. 

Therefore, an additional $2bn in funds may provoke outrage from some of President Donald Trump’s supporters, who support “America First” policies. 

The US Army did not respond to Middle East Eye’s request for a comment at the time of publication, but told Haaretz that “it does not currently have a formal JSMC program with Israel, so any questions on programs the Israeli Ministry of Defense may be considering should be addressed to them”.