War Reserve Stocks for Allies–Israel

WRSA-I holds American defense equipment in Israel that can be used by either country under the applicable transfer arrangements; keeping equipment locally can reduce the need for rapid American resupply of some items during an emergency.[1] The program is also called the War Reserve Stockpile for Allies–Israel and the War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition–Israel.[1][2] Reported categories of equipment include artillery shells, precision-guided munitions, missiles, and vehicles, although the full inventory is not publicly available.[1][3]

The stockpile was originally conceived as American weapons systems and ammunition available for rapid deployment to U.S. forces in the region.[2] As it expanded, its role increasingly included Israeli military requirements: by 2014, its purpose was described as primarily meeting Israeli contingencies and helping Israel equip itself for short, intensive wars, given its reliance on reserve forces and limited strategic depth.[2] Israeli access nevertheless requires U.S. permission rather than following automatically from the equipment’s location in Israel.[3]

Israeli leaders sought closer military cooperation with the United States in the early 1980s by inviting it to store arms and equipment at Israeli bases for wartime use.[1] American stockpiling in Israel began in 1984, initially with “single-use” armaments that the Israel Defense Forces could not use.[1] In 1989, the George H. W. Bush administration changed the terms to permit Israeli access in emergencies, while seeking Israel’s acquiescence to a proposed sale of M1A1 tanks to Saudi Arabia.[1]

The broader history of American military storage in Israel reaches back to preparations following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, after the United States delivered weapons to Israel during that conflict.[4] Early stores included American tanks and armored personnel carriers in the Negev for potential use by U.S. forces in the Middle East.[4] In the 2000s, munitions for different American military branches were stored at sites accessible only to U.S. personnel.[4]

Congress expanded the program over time from an initial reported holding of $100 million in American military materiel.[2] In December 2006, Congress approved an increase in emergency equipment pre-positioned in Israel; a historical account gave the stockpile’s then-current value as $100 million and said it would double in 2008.[5] A December 2009 agreement provided for stockpiling $800 million worth of weapons and ammunition in Israel.[5]

Published figures subsequently reflected further expansion, but described different dates and measures.[2][6] A 2014 account projected that the stockpile’s value would reach $1.2 billion the following year, while a separate report that year described Senate-approved legislation allowing another $200 million in stored weapons and a stated total value of $1.8 billion.[2][6] These historical figures do not constitute a current public inventory; the stockpile’s contents remain undisclosed.[1]

Responsibility for managing WRSA-I moved from U.S. European Command to U.S. Central Command following Israel’s transfer between their areas of responsibility, formalized in September 2021.[1] Central Command has managed the program since that transfer.[1]

The United States retains title to WRSA-I equipment, and ownership must be transferred before a foreign country uses it.[1] Under 22 U.S.C. § 2321h(a), a defense article earmarked for a foreign country cannot be made available for its use unless the transfer is authorized under the relevant security-assistance or Arms Export Control Act provisions; its value is charged against the applicable funding or statutory limits.[1] Israel must request permission and explain its reasons for seeking equipment from the stockpile.[3]

A bilateral agreement governs storage, maintenance, in-country transit, and other associated costs.[1] Israel uses national funds and Foreign Military Financing to pay for the construction, maintenance, and refurbishment of ammunition-storage facilities, as well as packaging, crating, handling, and transportation of armaments to and from the stockpile.[1] Israeli contributions to conveyance costs followed earlier disagreement over who should pay shipping expenses.[2] A U.S. flag officer reportedly summarized the dispute by telling Israeli interlocutors, “When you're given a present, you can at least pay for the wrapping paper.”[2]

Annual additions are governed by statutory ceilings rather than a publicly disclosed target inventory.[7] The current text of 22 U.S.C. § 2321h(b)(2) sets a $500 million annual ceiling on additions to the covered foreign stockpiles for fiscal years 2023 through 2028, with no more than $200 million available for stockpiles in Israel in a fiscal year.[7] Those limits concern additions, not the total value of equipment already stored.[7]

Congress has also authorized transfers of precision-guided munitions under specified conditions.[1] Authority enacted in 2021 and reauthorized through January 1, 2027, includes protections for American warfighting needs and combat readiness, together with an annual Defense Department assessment of the stockpile’s quantity and types of precision-guided munitions.[1] A 2020 report on the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act described an extension of stockpile authorization through fiscal year 2025 and authorization for an additional $200 million annually in stocks.[8]

Further extension remained a legislative proposal in the July 22, 2026, account of the House-passed fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.[9] Section 1221 of H.R. 8800 would extend Israel’s War Reserve Stockpile Authority from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2029; the bill had passed only the House and was not law as of that account’s date.[9]

During the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel requested expedited delivery of precision-guided munitions.[1] The George W. Bush administration permitted access to WRSA-I rather than invoking emergency authority under the Arms Export Control Act.[1] Pentagon official Keith Rowe developed a procedure that enabled weapons to move from the American stockpile to Israel under existing U.S. law without separate White House approval.[2]

In July 2014, during Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in Gaza, the Defense Department allowed Israel to obtain 120-mm tank rounds and 40-mm illumination rounds from the stockpile, with payment through Foreign Military Financing.[1] The transaction proceeded as a foreign military sale without a 60-day congressional notification requirement or a wait for delivery.[2] Israel had not based its request on an emergency; releasing older American stocks also enabled their rotation and eventual replenishment.[10] Some equipment was nearing expiration and was purchased inexpensively for training use.[2]

Preparations for possible transfers also featured in bilateral exercises.[11] During Juniper Falcon in February 2019, American officers simulated transferring munitions from WRSA-I to the Israel Defense Forces.[11]

The United States subsequently drew on the stockpile to supply Ukraine.[1] By January 2023, approximately half of an expected 300,000 rounds of 155-mm howitzer ammunition had been transferred.[11] The eventual total withdrawn in 2022 and 2023 was 300,000 shells, supplementing materiel taken from the American stockpile in South Korea.[1]

Israeli officials acceded to the Pentagon’s request; CRS quoted one official saying, “it’s their ammunition and they don’t really need our permission to take it.”[1] Then-prime minister Yair Lapid approved the transfer after discussions among Israeli cabinet and security officials, who cited American ownership of the ammunition and a desire to avoid friction with Washington.[4] Israeli officials distinguished the decision from supplying Israeli weapons to Ukraine, which Israel had resisted in part because of its need to preserve freedom of operation in Syria, where Russian forces largely controlled the airspace.[4] The shells traveled to Europe and entered Ukraine through Poland.[12]

Two senior Israeli officials said the United States had committed to refilling its stockpile in Israel and supplying ammunition in an emergency.[12] The transfer occurred amid large-scale American artillery support for Ukraine: Washington had delivered or promised slightly more than one million 155-mm shells, while Ukrainian forces were reported to be firing about 90,000 artillery shells monthly.[12]

In December 2023, the Biden administration notified Congress of proposed Israeli purchases of tank cartridges valued at $106.5 million and artillery shells valued at $147.5 million, both supplied from WRSA-I.[1] It invoked Arms Export Control Act emergency authorities to waive congressional review.[1] In January 2025, the United States again accessed WRSA-I to send 90 Patriot air-defense interceptors from Israel to Ukraine after Israel decommissioned its Patriot batteries.[1]

Locating American equipment in Israel offers a means of supplying Israeli forces without waiting for every item to arrive from abroad during a crisis.[1] The stockpile also retains its American regional role, while the transfers to Ukraine demonstrate its use for a partner outside the region.[11][4] Its practical value therefore rests both on physical proximity to Israeli military needs and on American authority to allocate U.S.-owned materiel.[1]

The relationship between pre-positioned American weaponry and Israel’s strategic importance has also featured in commentary about the bilateral alliance.[13][14] Writing about U.S.–Israel relations after the 1991 Gulf War, Steven L. Spiegel argued that Israel had been “held in reserve” and could have served as an ally had the American position been jeopardized; he included the pre-positioning of American weapons among the considerations supporting Israel’s strategic importance.[13]

Ambassador Dore Gold likewise argued that American weapons stockpiles positioned in Israel during the 1990s could have supported Gulf contingencies.[14] He distinguished the Eastern Mediterranean focus of U.S.–Israel defense ties from Persian Gulf scenarios under Central Command and portrayed Israel as an ally of last resort, potentially offering emergency medical services or air support if American forces encountered unexpected opposition.[14] These arguments addressed the strategic role of American storage in Israel rather than supplying a detailed inventory of WRSA-I.[13][14]

Israeli access during the 2014 Gaza operation drew criticism and closer scrutiny of arms transfers.[2] After learning of the stockpile transaction, the Obama administration delayed a Hellfire missile transfer and said future arms sales would receive greater scrutiny.[2] In December 2023, several members of Congress objected to the administration’s use of emergency authority to bypass congressional review of the two proposed sales from WRSA-I.[1]

Transfers to Ukraine prompted questions about replenishment and the stockpile’s capacity to support Israel in a crisis.[15] A provision proposed in the House version of the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act called for a Pentagon report on precision-guided munitions holdings, replenishment plans, and consistency with the American legal obligation to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge, but would not itself have required replenishment.[15]

Transparency and transfer procedures have also attracted concern.[16] The inventory is not publicly disclosed, and officials cited in reporting raised the possibility that equipment could be drawn before formal transfer procedures were completed, potentially bypassing State Department oversight before transfer.[16] These concerns concern the administration of a stockpile whose legal framework requires authorization and transfer of title before foreign use.[1]