Finland buys Israeli missile defence system for $344m

The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) successfully completed a test series of the David’s Sling Weapons System, a missile defense system that is a central part of Israel’s multi-layer anti-missile array. This test series was conducted at YANAT Sea Range, operated out of Palmachim Air Base, Israel on 25 January 2023 [Wikimedia]

Finland signed a deal yesterday to buy Israel’s David’s Sling missile defence system for $344 million, the Times of Israel has reported. The Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Eyal Zamir, hailed the agreement as a “historic milestone” during the signing ceremony, which was attended by Finland’s Ambassador to Israel, Nina Nordström, and Finnish Defence Attaché to Israel, Colonel Oula Asteljoki.

“David’s Sling is one of the most advanced systems in the world for intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and drones,” said Zamir. “The system has demonstrated very high-performance capabilities in war, in a variety of challenging scenarios.”

The deal comes after Finland joined NATO earlier this year in an effort to boost its defence capabilities. Turkiye’s government voted in favour of Finland’s membership almost a year after Helsinki made the formal request to join.

The weapons system is a joint venture by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd and American contractor Raytheon. It is designed to intercept aircraft, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, medium- to long-range rockets and cruise missiles fired at ranges from 40 to 300 kilometres.

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