Introduction
Israel is a main supplier of Finland’s military equipment. Finland’s military purchases from Israel include UAVs, anti-tank missiles, tank ammunition, communication systems and the David’s Sling air-defense system.
Israel – Finland Relations
Finland officially recognized Israel on 18 March 1949, and established official Diplomatic relations on November 14th 1950.[1]Finland and Israel By the 1970’s, after Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and the Sinai, there was growing criticism of Israeli policies, including by Finnish heads of state.[2]Davar, 21.03.1976 archive of NLI While this criticism continues, this has not halted economic relations between the countries, and in 1992 as part of a trade agreement with EFTA countries, Israel and Finland signed a trade treaty, and today the same is true in relation to Israel’s trade agreements with the EU that Finland had since joined. In 1999 the two countries signed a bi-lateral tax-break agreement.[3]MoU double taxation Israel and Finland In 2015, the trade between the countries was 350 Million USD (both important and export).[4]Ministry of Economy Israel : Denmark Trade Report
Official Visits:
2026 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen visited Israel and met with President Isaac Herzog and with Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.[5]Helsinki Times, Valtonen meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders, says Finland backs two-state solution, 16.02.2026[6]Embassy of Israel in Helsinki, Bilateral relations, 20.02.2026
2020 – Visit of the President of Finland in January 2020 for Celebration of diplomatic relations between the countries.[7]Maariv : Finland President visits Israel with Finish CEOs
2018 – Israeli Knesset Member Xenia Svetlova visited Finland. Svetlova was head of the committee for Israeli-Finland relations in the Knesset between 2015-2019.[8]Zman : Finland my Love
2009 – Israel minister of defense meets Finland’s minister of defense Jyri Häkämies in Tel Aviv.[9]Ynet : Defense Minister Barak meets Defense Minister of Finland
2006 – Finnish delegation of investors and businessmen to Israel.[10]Delegation of Finnish Investors to Israel
Military Relations
Military relations between Israel and Finland are based on Finland’s extensive procurement of Israeli-developed defense systems and military equipment. Key agreements in recent years include a 2022 deal worth €224 million to acquire Spike anti-tank missiles and a contract signed in late 2023 for the purchase of the David’s Sling air defense system, valued at approximately €320 million. In 2026, Israel’s Ministry of Defense stated that there were 23 ongoing defense projects involving the Finnish military and Israel’s defense industry.[11]Ynet, Despite Eurovision boycott, Finland hosts massive Israeli defense industry delegation, 14.05.2026
Israeli-Finnish arms relations date back to the 1950’s when Israeli arms companies were manufacturing Finnish licenses artillery, but in the past two decades these relations have grown.[12]FINNISH-ISRAELI ARMS INDUSTRY ALREADY IN THE 1950S In 2012 a military cooperation agreement was signed between the two countries, including a confidentiality clause on classified information in the fields of defense and security. This means that much of the military cooperation between the two countries is classified and not known to the public.[13]Finland seeks to hide arms trade with Israel
In 2015 media reported that Finland’s security agency IT was involved in the surveillance that lead to the killing of Hizbollah member Samir Kuntar in Damascus.[14]Finland’s IT helped to assasinate Samir Kuntar In other reports it was said that evidence was found at the site of Kuntar’s assassination, linking Israel to the airstrike. According to the report Israeli warheads from smart bombs featuring Israeli markings were found among the rubble and radar systems located in the area identified Israeli fighter jets.[15]Israeli bomb fragments found at site of Kuntar assassination: media
In addition to the ongoing arms trade between the two countries, in 2019 SIBAT, the Israeli Ministry of Defense International Defense Cooperation Directorate, announced that Finland is one of six target markets for Israel’s arms export in the coming years.[16]Defense Ministry seeks to expand Israel’s arms exports
It was reported that the Israeli company NSO Group offered its Pegasus spyware to the Finnish Defence Forces, but there no information on any purchases.[17]Spyware was installed with a missed call – This is how the company accused of hacking Whatsapp works, which has also sold its products to the Finnish Defense Forces In January 2022 the Finnish Foreign Ministry announced that Finnish diplomats working abroad were targeted and hacked by NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.[18]https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/technology-science/1643472285-finland-claims-diplomats-mobile-devices-hacked-with-israeli-spyware
In May 2026, a delegation led by Israel Defense Ministry visited Helsinki, to join a joint defense industry seminar and meet with senior officials from the Finnish military and Defense Ministry. The delegation consisted of 32 Israeli defense companies, including: Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Elbit Systems Tomer, UVision, Xtend, TSG, and Aeronautics, alongside new defense tech start-ups under the ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D)’s Mafat for Startups (MFS) program.[19]The Jerusalem Post, Finland hosts large Israeli defense delegation for two-day seminar, 14.05.2026[20]Ynet, Despite Eurovision boycott, Finland hosts massive Israeli defense industry delegation, 14.05.2026
Arms Acquisitions from Israel
Finland’s military purchases from Israel include UAVs, anti-tank missiles, tank ammunition, communication systems, camouflage and air-defense systems:
UAVs: Finland bought Ranger UAVs from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in 1999[21]Finland Orders IAI’s Ranger UAV (Oct. 1) and 2003[22]muuttuva asekauppa tapaustutkimus Suomesta ja Israelista and Orbiter UAVs from Aeronautics in 2012.[23]Miniature Unmanned Aerial System Orbiter 2b
SPIKE missiles: According to SaferGlobe, in 2000 Finland bought about 300 Spike anti-tank missiles for EUR 37.2 million and in 2002 another 200 or so missiles for EUR 21 million.[24]muuttuva asekauppa tapaustutkimus Suomesta ja Israelista More missiles were acquired later, including another 200 anti-ship missiles in 2006 for coastal defence.[25]Anti-ship missile 06 -Euro Spike ER
In 2022, Finland procured Spike SR, LR2 and ER2 missile systems in a €223.6 million deal. The deal was signed with EuroSpike, a Germany-based joint venture of the Israeli state-owned Rafael together with Rheinmetall Electronics and Diehl Defence, and was implemented through NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).[26]Army Technology, EuroSpike to supply Spike guided missiles to Finland, 30.01.2023[27]Defence Industry Europe, Finland buys Spike SR, LR2 and ER2 missile systems, 09.12.2022
Communication Systems: Finland purchased field radio systems from Elbit since at least 2000[28]Organization: Finland supports Israel’s war crimes with arms sales, and in 2002[29]Organization: Finland supports Israel’s war crimes with arms sales, 2009[30]Elbit Systems to supply high-speed radio and data communication systems to Finnish Army and 2015[31]Safer Globe : SUOMEN ASEVALVONTARAPORTTI. In 2012 the Finnish army acquired a command and target positioning system from Elbit in a deal that included training and testing of the system.[32]Elbit Systems Awarded Initial Contract to Supply Advanced Dismounted Soldier Systems to the Finnish Army In 2022 Finland purchased field radios for its defense forces from Elbit in a deal estimated in €24.28 million.[33]Defence Forces to procure field radios
Camouflage Systems: Finland purchased thousands of advanced multispectral camouflage systems from the Israeli company Fibrotex for the Finnish Defense Forces.[34]Finland buys military equipment from Israel for over 50 million euros[35]Finland Wants Israeli Camouflage
Radar Systems: In 2019, IAI won a contract to supply C-MMR multi-task radar systems to the Finnish Army. The deal included training.[36]Miksi Suomen uudesta aseostosta vaietaan? Israelilainen tutka pidetään visusti piilossa, ja jopa hankintapäätös on salainen
Trophy Active Protection Systems: a deal was signed in May 2025 to integrate Trophy systems onto Finland’s Patria AMV XP 8×8.[37]The Jerusalem Post, Rafael subsidiary strikes deal with four NATO countries for Trophy APS, 23.01.2026[38]Globes, Finland to buy Rafael’s Trophy defense system, 15.05.2025
Smash anti-drones sights: The Finnish military acquired Smash add-on rifle sights by Smart Shooter. The Smash sights facilitate the targeting and shooting down of drones.[39]Reuters, Finland steps up anti-drone defences amid concerns about Russia, 09.12.2025 This purchase follows a test made in 2018 by the Finnish Defense Forces to Smart Shooter’s products.[40]The Defense Forces tested a state-of-the-art smart sight for an assault rifle – “Makes a bad shooter good”
David’s Sling air defense system: In November 2023 Finland signed a €317 million deal to acquire the David’ Sling medium to long-range air defense system, developed by Rafael.[41]Globes, Finland signs NIS 1.3b David’s Sling deal, 12.11.2023
Joint Ventures and Collaborations
Elbit and DA-Group – partnered in 2019 to produce and advertise anti-jamming devices for global navigation satellite systems.[42]DA-Group ja Elbit Systems tarjoavat yhteistyössä ratkaisun GNSS-paikkatiedon häirinnän ongelmaan
Patria – Elbit and Patria carried out product development projects and product tests.[43]Safer Globe : muuttuva asekauppa tapaustutkimus Suomesta ja Israelista [44]Finland exports missile technology to Israel In 2015 Patria received three military export permits from Finland’s Ministry of Defense. These permits have to do with maintenance and military products, over which Finnish and Israeli companies cooperate. Elbit Systems and Plasan were identified as the recipients.[45]Safer Globe : SUOMEN ASEVALVONTARAPORTTI Patria and Rafael also carried out joint product development around Rafael’s Spike missiles.[46]Safer Globe : muuttuva asekauppa tapaustutkimus Suomesta ja Israelista
Insta DefSec – the Finnish company supplied Rafael’s Spike missiles with thermal cameras and head frames.[47]Finland exports missile technology to Israel
Israeli media reported that there is also cooperation between Elbit with Nammo, who is partly owned by the Finnish government, and between Israel Aerospace Industries with the Finnish Millog.[48]Ynet, Despite Eurovision boycott, Finland hosts massive Israeli defense industry delegation, 14.05.2026
Usage of Israeli Arms
Orbiter UAV – 55 systems, with a total of 250 mini air vehicles in use by Finland’s Air Force since 2012. In 2009 and 2010, The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) conducted workshops on “RPA and Land Border Surveillance” in Imatra, Finland. This workshop included live demonstrations of mini-RPAs including the Rafael Orbiter, which Finland then purchased in 2012.[49]Deploying Drones in Policing Southern European Borders: Constraints and Challenges for Data Protection and Human Rights While we do not know how these are used today by the Finish military, we do know that Finland is using drones to surveil its border with Russia, including to prevent immigration.[50]Finland to test drones on Russian border as migrant flow grows
Mine Rollers by Urdan Metal & Casting Industries Ltd. – In use by Finnish Defense Forces on Leopard 2A4 tanks.[51]MAAVOIMIEN LIIKKUVUUDEN JA TULIVOIMAN ROLL OUT PANSSARIPRIKAATISSA 5.8.2015
ELM-2311 Compact Multi Mission Radars – In use by Finnish Defense Forces since 2021 [52]Puolustusvoimat hankkii vastatykistötutkia ja kehittää suorituskykyään
Spike anti-tank missiles – In use by the Finnish Defense Forces and the Finnish Navy (under designation RO 2006).[53]Reach out and touch someone – at 40 km
Gabriel V Advanced Naval Attack Missile – in use by Finnish Navy. Used by Pohjanmaa-class corvettes, Hamina-class missile boats and ground-based launchers.[54]Finnish Navy unveils first details of its future Gabriel V anti-ship missile
Ranger UAV – 11 uavs in use by Finland’s air force since 2001 [55]International Institute for Strategic Studies: The Military Balance 2015, p.89