The Unites States has announced it will allocate $235 million for U.S.-Israeli cooperative missile defense programs as part of the 2012 budget, Ynet reported Thursday, December 22. A large part of the funds will go towards the development of the David’s Sling system, designed to intercept medium- to long-range rockets and cruise missiles, and the Arrow 2 and 3 systems against long-range ballistic missiles. Pentagon officials requested that Congress approve $106 million for missile defense systems, on top of the Iron Dome budget. Congress chose to nearly double that amount, approving a budget of $235 million for 2012, amounting to $25 million more than in 2011. This budget is not considered to be part of the American aid to Israel, but rather goes towards military cooperation between both countries, with each one allocating a similar amount in developing anti-missile systems.