The United States of America has approved the sale to Finland of the David's Sling missile defense system, which was developed in Israel by Rafael together with American specialists. This was announced on August 2 by the press service of the Israeli Defense Ministry.
"Today (Israeli. Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Director General of the Israeli Defense Ministry, Reserve Major General Eyal Zamir and Head of the Israeli Defense Ministry's R&D Department, Reserve Brigadier General Daniel Gold received a notification from the US State Department about the decision of the administration (Washington. — Ed.) to approve the delivery of the David's Sling weapon system to Finland," the ministry said in a statement.
According to the press service, the total amount of the transaction is estimated at € 316 million (approximately $346 million). In the near future (exact dates are unknown), the supply agreement will be signed by representatives of the Israeli and Finnish defense departments, as well as representatives of Rafael.
The approval of the US missile defense supply is an important step in the implementation of the historic agreement between Israel and Finland and will become a new stage of cooperation between the countries in solving global issues and regional challenges, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant stressed, expressing gratitude to his American counterpart Lloyd Austin for his support.
The Israeli Defense Ministry added that Raytheon participated in the development and production of the David's Sling system from the United States. The modification of the "David's Sling" for Finland will be finalized together with Finnish specialists and introduced into the Finnish army control system.
The David's Sling system is designed to intercept short- to medium-range missiles. Together with it, Israel's airspace is protected by the Iron Dome air defense system, which intercepts short-range missiles, and the Hetz missile defense system, designed to defeat ballistic missiles and long-range missiles.
On the eve of the Pentagon Defense Cooperation Agency reported that the State Department approved the sale of modernization services for Finland M270 MLRS missile launchers for $ 395 million. The upgrade will include intercom systems, radio communication racks, machine-gun installations and a set for the integration of combat control system vehicles.
Earlier, on June 25, it became known that Finland has increased defense spending to the maximum in the last 60 years. In connection with the country's accession to NATO, expenditures increased by 36% compared to last year and reached $4.8 billion.
On May 15, a series of major military exercises started in Finland at the Rowayarvi training ground in Lapland. In total, about 8 thousand servicemen took part in the maneuvers, more than 1 thousand of them were military personnel from the United States, Britain, Sweden and Norway. British BMP Warrior and Swedish CV90s were presented at the exercises. Also, American MLRS multiple launch rocket systems will be placed at the landfills.
