Finland buys missiles worth $323-M

Finland invests on missiles pending NATO membership

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States Defense Department has announced the approval of a $323 million sale of AIM 9X Block II tactical missiles and AGM-154 Joint Stand Off Weapons to Finland.

“The proposed sale will improve Finland’s air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons capabilities and will positively impact US relations with countries in the Nordic region,” the Pentagon said in a statement Monday.

The announcement on the sale of 40 AIM 9Xs and 48 AGM-154s comes more than nine months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which pushed both Finland and Sweden to seek North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership.

The US State Department approved the possible sale, and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Wednesday provided the required notification to Congress.

Lawmakers still need to sign off on the transaction, but that is likely to be a formality.

The sale will “support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a trusted partner, which is an important force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the Pentagon said.

VALENTINE CHAPUIS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE PEOPLE queue to abandon their weapons during a collect in the former school of Lapeyriere in Lisle-sur-Tarn, France. From 25 November to 2 December 2022 private individuals, undeclared holders of weapons found or acquired by inheritance, can go to specially opened sites throughout French territory to either dispose of them with the State, or register them in the weapons information system.