Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen. Photo: Emmi Korhonen / Lehtikuva
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Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen says Finland will continue with its major arms purchases from Israel despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza, arguing that the acquisitions are essential for the country’s defence.
Speaking to Yle, Häkkänen said there is no need for new export guidelines, noting that Finland has not shipped actual weapons to Israel in years and that other defence or dual-use exports have been minimal, mostly limited to protective equipment. No new export projects to Israel are currently planned, he added.
The defence minister stressed the strategic importance of Finland’s Israeli acquisitions, particularly the David’s Sling air-defence system purchased in 2023 for €316 million, with an option worth an additional €213 million. The system, produced by Rafael, will replace a decommissioned capability and is described by Häkkänen as “critically important” for Finland’s air defence.
“There are no talks about cancelling the deal, it is proceeding as planned,” he said. Cancelling now, he added, would set the procurement process back to the beginning, delay the capability by years, and incur significant contractual penalties without delivering the required system.
Over the past decade, Finland has ordered more than €800 million worth of Israeli weapon systems in deals of at least €10 million each, including Spike anti-tank missiles worth €213 million in 2022 and Gabriel anti-ship missiles worth €162 million in 2018, both with substantial additional purchase options.
While exports from Finland to Israel have been modest, typically under €1 million a year, the value of export permits rose sharply to €16.8 million in 2024, almost entirely due to software from Insta Group to integrate David’s Sling into Finnish systems. The Ministry of Defence says the export will not transfer new expertise to Israel.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has previously said that no new arms purchases from Israel should be made while the Gaza war continues, although existing contracts will be honoured. Häkkänen did not address future procurement policy in his comments.
Spain is among the European nations to cancel arms purchases from Israel, scrapping a €280 million Spike missile contract in June.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
