'Israel'-Finland sign David's Sling deal, risking war needs deliveries
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The agreement was greenlit by the United States last May as a joint producer of the system.
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Israeli-US produced "David's Sling" during a test launch in an undisclosed location in the United States in an image released in December 2015 (AP)
The Israeli occupation entity finalized an agreement with Finland on the sale of "David's Sling" anti-air system for around 317 million euros ($340 million).
"Director General MG (Res) Eyal Zamir signed an agreement for the sale of the "David's Sling" to Finland valued at approx. 317 million EUR. It is one of the world's leading systems for intercepting advanced threats including ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft & drones," the Israeli Security Ministry announced on Saturday in a post on X.
Read more: German arms exports to 'Israel' increased tenfold in 2023
The deal was greenlit by the United States last May; a key requirement, given that the system was produced jointly between Israeli arms producer Rafael Systems and American military contractor Raytheon.
In April, just a day after Finland joined the NATO military alliance, the country announced its intent to purchase the system.
The system, also known as the Magic Wand, has been in operation in "Israel" since 2017 and this sale marks the first time the system has been supplied to a foreign entity.
It was designed to intercept medium- and long-range rockets at a range of 40-300 kilometers (25-185 miles) and constitutes the middle part of "Israel's" multi-layer anti-missile capabilities, which also include the short-range Iron Dome and a top-level of Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems.
A sale in times of need
While the occupation entity has increased its weapon exports in the past few years, the recent battle with the Resistance in Gaza has forced the United States to establish an air corridor and tap into its emergency stockpile in the region to supply "Israel" with military hardware, arms, and munitions.
Regarding the US-supplied weapons to the Israeli occupation, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh emphasized earlier that Washington does not impose conditions on the usage of such weaponry; however, it does expect "Israel" to use the granted weapons in compliance with international law.
Moreover, "Tel Aviv" is currently facing a multi-front confrontation, after Hezbollah, Yemen, and Iraqi Resistance factions started operations targeting the entity in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Operations carried out by Yemen included both long-range ballistic missiles and drones, while the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has officially targeted "Eilat" twice so far using Kamikaze drones.
Along with almost daily rocket launches from Lebanon and drone attacks, which are increasing in range into the depth of the entity gradually, the Israeli entity is facing a dilemma as to which front it must deploy its anti-air systems.
This required "Israel" to request two Iron Dome systems to be delivered from the US, in addition to 300 intercepters.
As the battle continues with no end in sight and operations are increasing day after day, in both the type of weaponry used and targets, Israelis might find themselves eventually in desperate need of every system and hardware they possess to confront the growing threats, which might significantly impact delivery time to Finland.
