Jerusalem:
Israel’s Defense Ministry on Sunday announced a 317 million euro ($340 million) deal to sell its David’s Sling air defense system to new NATO member Finland.
The ministry called it a “historic agreement” and said the system jointly developed by Israeli and American companies can intercept ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft and drones.
The announcement comes after Israel signed a $3.5 billion deal in September – the largest ever for the tiny country’s outsized weapons sector – to sell its Arrow 3 hypersonic missile system to Germany.
The long-range Arrow 3 system was also jointly developed and produced by companies in Israel and its key ally the United States, and the sale had to be approved by Washington before it could be completed.
That agreement came as Germany took the lead in strengthening NATO air defenses in Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, urging allies to jointly purchase deterrent systems.
New NATO member Finland also quickly announced plans to purchase an Israeli defense system against aircraft, missiles and missiles.
Analysts say the ongoing war in Ukraine is likely to further increase European demand for Israeli weapons.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)