Finland extends defence cooperation with Israel through 2034

Finland and Israel have quietly signed a memorandum of understanding on defence materiel cooperation that will remain in force until 2034, Yle reports.

The agreement is intended to support cooperation in the research, development and procurement of military products. Finland proposed extending the memorandum in early 2024, while the war in Gaza was already under way.

The memorandum was originally drawn up in 2013 and had been due to expire. Earlier agreements had covered five-year periods, but the latest memorandum will last for 10 years.

Its timing has drawn attention because tens of thousands of civilians had been killed in the war in Gaza by the time it was signed, and Israel had begun facing accusations of genocide.

Minister calls agreement routine

Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen of the National Coalition Party approved the memorandum in early 2024. He said such documents were standard practice between countries involved in defence equipment trade.

“We have cooperation documents with 40 countries, and Israel has long been one of them,” Häkkänen told Yle.

He also said the extension was unremarkable given Finland’s previous arms purchases from Israel. Just before the war in Gaza began, the government led by former Prime Minister Sanna Marin decided to buy Israel’s David’s Sling air defence system in a deal worth more than 300 million euros. Finland is the first country to which Israel has sold the system.

According to Häkkänen, the memorandum concerns the implementation of existing air defence systems and other procurement cooperation. “It is not some dramatic new policy direction,” he said.

Defence industry officials meet behind closed doors

The memorandum establishes a joint coordination group that must meet at least once a year. Finland is represented in the group by Olli Ruutu, director of the Ministry of Defence’s Resources Policy Department. Yle said it was unable to interview Ruutu about the group’s activities.

In May, Helsinki hosted a Finnish-Israeli defence seminar where dozens of defence industry companies from both countries established contacts. Ruutu delivered a speech at the event.

Ynetnews reported that the message from the Finnish seminar participants was that Finland wanted to deepen cooperation with Israel. The newspaper said 23 projects were under way between the Finnish army and Israel’s defence industry.

A representative of Israel’s Ministry of Defence told The Jerusalem Post that “Finland is Israel’s gateway to NATO and European markets”.

Patria develops products with Israeli companies

Finnish defence company Patria has been particularly active in developing cooperation projects with Israel’s defence industry.

Last year, Patria decided to install Israel-based Rafael’s Trophy protection system on its Finnish AMV XP 8×8 armoured vehicle. The system has also been sold to several other NATO countries.

At the beginning of the decade, an Israeli Elbit gun turret was integrated into the same Patria armoured vehicle. Patria has also equipped its armoured vehicles with Israeli Spike anti-tank missiles.

During the 2010s, Patria developed the Havoc armoured vehicle with Israel-based Plasan Sasa and offered it to the United States Marine Corps. The United States ultimately chose another option.

The May seminar was not the first of its kind. A similar event was held in Helsinki in autumn 2022 without attracting significant attention.

Finnish attitudes towards Israel have hardened since the war in Gaza. When news of the spring seminar reached the Finnish public through Israeli media, it caused controversy in Finland. The Ministry of Defence quickly said it had not organised the event.