U.S. Universities Conduct Dozens of Defense Projects Funded by Israeli Ministry of Defense
At least 70 research projects at more than 30 U.S. universities have been carried out for the Israeli Ministry of Defense, financed through U.S. foreign military aid.
A review of over a thousand pages of university and military records shows that since at least 2009, more than 30 American universities have executed at least 70 research projects for the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Projects include robot cockroaches at Carnegie Mellon, inchworm-style crawlers at the University of Maryland, micro-drones inspired by hummingbirds, AI tools that caption battlefield video, and fuel-cell sensors designed for Israeli border conditions.
Money is routed through the U.S. Foreign Military Financing program and labeled as "defense articles and services," allowing the funds to be spent without typical academic grant oversight. Some contracts require U.S. researchers to travel to Israel and collaborate directly with IMoD scientists. The arrangement exploits a Fundamental Research Exclusion that lets the work avoid export controls, and recent student activism has prompted universities like MIT and the UC system to hide related funding details.
Why it matters
It shows how U.S. taxpayer money indirectly supports Israeli military research through university collaborations.
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