US Military Weighing AI Development Base in Negev

The United States is examining a proposal to establish a secure artificial intelligence base in Israel’s Negev Desert as part of a broader effort to protect advanced technology from Chinese espionage and strengthen American leadership in the AI race, according to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Hudson Institute fellows Michael Doran and Zineb Riboua.

The proposed initiative, known in Israel as Project Spire, is being discussed by American and Israeli officials. According to the authors, the facility would combine the security standards of a US military installation with the research and engineering culture of a major technology hub.

The plan centers on three possible sites in the western Negev. Israel would reportedly provide the land through a long-term lease for American use. The facility could host research and development, large-scale server infrastructure, dedicated energy systems, chip design, AI model training and possibly advanced semiconductor production.

Doran and Riboua argue that the next stage of US-China competition will require secure zones where trusted allies can cooperate on AI without exposing sensitive technology to espionage or theft. Project Spire would serve as the first node in a possible network of hardened AI bases, allowing American companies and allied researchers to work inside protected facilities governed by strict US standards.

The proposal is linked to the Trump administration’s Pax Silica initiative, described as an economic-security framework meant to strengthen trusted supply chains, reduce dependence on China and protect the infrastructure behind advanced computing. The authors cite a January 2026 declaration signed in Jerusalem by US Undersecretary of State Jacob Helberg and Erez Askal, head of Israel’s National AI Directorate, as a possible foundation for the project.

The authors describe Israel as a strong candidate because of its concentration of expertise in cyber, intelligence, military technology, chip architecture and applied AI. They also point to the presence of major American technology companies in Israel, including Nvidia, Intel, Google and Microsoft.

The Negev is presented as a strategic location because of its existing role in advanced US-Israeli industrial cooperation, including Intel’s long-running manufacturing operations in Kiryat Gat. A secure AI base would expand that cooperation into a more sensitive field involving computing power, energy capacity, software development and chip production.

According to the proposal, technologies developed at the base would remain under American ownership, while production and scaling could take place in the United States. The authors argue that this would create high-value jobs in both countries and help American firms maintain control over critical AI systems.

If approved, Project Spire could become a model for similar secure AI facilities in other allied countries.