The Israeli Ministry of Defense has concluded a deal to sell an air defense system to Finland

The Israeli Ministry of Defense signed a “historic agreement” with representatives of Finland on the sale of the David’s Sling missile defense system to Helsinki, the transaction amount is estimated at 317 million euros, reports The Times of Israel.

According to the publication, the parties entered into an agreement on the sale of missile defense on November 12, it was signed at the headquarters of the ministry by the director general of the department, Eyal Zamir. The Finnish side was represented by the Ambassador to Israel Nina Nordström and the Finnish Defense Attaché in the Jewish State, Colonel Oula Asteljoki.

“David’s Sling” is a multi-layered missile defense system of the Israel Defense Forces. It is designed to intercept short-range ballistic missiles and large-caliber unguided missiles with a launch range from 40 to 300 km. According to the publication, the system has been in operation in Israel since 2017; in May it made its first real interception. The manufacturer of the “David’s Sling” system is the Israeli company Rafael, its President and CEO Yoav Har-Even also participated in the conclusion of the agreement.

US authorities in summer approved sale to Finland of the “David’s Sling” system, which was developed by Rafael in collaboration with the Americans. The Israeli Ministry of Defense then reported that military officials had received notification from the US State Department about the administration’s decision to approve the delivery.

In October, members of the Republican Party of the US House of Representatives introduced a bill to allocate $14.3 billion in additional aid to Israel. As The Hill wrote, the package includes $4 billion for Israeli missile defense and air defense systems “Iron Dome” and “David’s Sling”, as well as more $1.2 billion for the development of the Iron Ray missile defense system.