Finland to Procure Rafael’s David’s Sling Weapon System

Finland will procure the David's Sling advanced air‐defence weapon system from Israel. This is the first export of the David's Sling Weapon System.

The Finnish Ministry of Defence (Finland MoD) has informed the Israeli Ministry of Defense of its decision to procure the air‐defence system.After a competitive process that lasted several years, the Finland MoD chose the advanced Israeli system, which will serve as a layered defence against various threats. The procurement request was received by the Director‐General of the Ministry of Defense, MG (Ret.) Eyal Zamir.

Israel will provide Finland with the David’s Sling system according to the agreement, including interceptors, launchers, and radars, which will be connected to Finnish command and control systems. The agreement is valued at approximately 316 million Euro, and due to the program's joint development with the United States is contingent on final export approval from the US Government.

The David's Sling Weapon System is a joint programme developed by the IMoD’s Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defence Agency, with Rafael Advanced Defence Systems as the prime contractor.

The system is designed to intercept advanced aerial threats, including ballistic missiles, aircrafts, UAVs and cruise missiles.

The David's Sling Weapon System is an advanced system designed to intercept ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, developed jointly by the Israel Missile Defence Organization and the U.S. Missile Defence Agency. The head of the Israel Missile Defence Organization, Moshe Patel, led the procurement talks with the Finnish Government. Rafael is the prime contractor for David's Sling, working alongside Elta an IAI subsidiary, which developed the Multi‐Mission Radar, and Elbit Systems, which developed the Israeli command and control system.

Israel'sDefence Minister Yoav Gallant said, "The Finnish government’s decision to acquire the David’s Sling system reflects the strong defense ties between our countries, as well as the cutting edge capabilities of Israel’s defense industries. I would like to thank the Finnish government and my counterpart, Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen, for placing their trust in the system. I am confident that the cooperation between our countries will further enhance our readiness to respond to regional and global threats.”

"The Ministry of Defence thanks the Government of Finland for their selection of our advanced interception system, David's Sling, as the solution for the Finnish Defense Forces," said the Director‐ General of the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eyal Zamir. "This is a vote of confidence in the Israeli defense establishment and a quantum leap in the defence collaboration between Finland and Israel.”

Head of Israel's Directorate of Defence R&D (DDR&D) Brig. Gen. (Res.) Dr. Daniel Gold added: "The David's Sling Weapon System has been operation since 2017 and is a core component of our multi‐tier air‐ defence array. We are proud that Finland has chosen this important joint Israeli‐American system for their defence forces. In conjunction with the announcement, DDR&D's Israel Missile Defence Organization has applied for US Government export approval for the system."

Rafael CEO & President, Major General (res.) Yoav Har‐Even: "We welcome Finland's choice of the "David's Sling" system and thank the Ministry of Defence for promoting the project. The advanced "David's Sling" system has garnered great interest worldwide and we are incredibly proud of the system's development and capabilities. This is an agreement that will go to upgrading Finland's air defense capabilities. It joins the list of agreements we have already reached with the country and we expect that it will bring about more cooperation in the future."

Commander of the Finnish Air Force, Maj Gen Juha‐Pekka Keranen, remarked: "The system will significantly strengthen the capability of Finland's air defence. Together with the commissioning of the F‐35 and the already fielded ground‐based air defence systems in service, the air defence of Finland will be very substantial on the European scale."

The David's Sling Weapon System is a central component of Israel's multi‐layered defence system and serves as an intermediate layer between the Iron Dome and Arrow missile‐defense systems. David's Sling is a national defence system designed to deal with advanced threats, provide additional interception opportunities compared to the Arrow and Iron Dome weapon systems, and serve as a defence against cruise missile attacks. The system is based on a motor interceptor with exceptional maneuverability and speed. David's Sling has high interoperability capabilities with external systems through a dedicated architecture, allowing flexibility while operating as part of an air‐defence array which consists of numerous diverse systems. The Finnish version of the system will be manufactured and integrated as a collaboration between Israeli, American and Finnish contractors, led by Rafael and Raytheon.