US sanction's first foreign sale of Isreali David's Sling

The US has given Israel the OK to sell David’s Sling missile defence system to Finland, Tel Aviv's Defence Ministry says, according to The Times of Israel.

In April, Finland announced that it wanted to purchase the system the day after it joined the NATO military alliance.

However, the move needed the approval of the US, which jointly developed the system. The deal is worth some 316 million euros ($345 million).

David’s Sling, produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, is capable of intercepting rockets and missiles at a range of 40-300 kilometres (25-185 miles)

David’s Sling, also known as the Magic Wand, has been operational in Israel since 2017 and makes up the middle tier of Israel’s multi-layer missile defence capabilities, which also included the short-range Iron Dome and a top level of  Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems, which are intended to engage long-range ballistic missiles.

This marks the first foreign sale of the system.