“Israel” Purchased Finnish Anti-Drone System to Protect Netanyahu!

By Staff, Agencies

Haaretz revealed that that “Shin Bet” purchased a Finnish-made anti-drone system to protect the entity’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Citing the information published by Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Haaretz underlined that “The Shin Bet purchased a Finnish-made anti-drone defense system to protect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It claims that the “Israeli” War Ministry, on behalf of the Prime Minister's Office, ordered the Airfence system produced by Finnish company Sensofusion. The information was accessed in response to a freedom-of-information request from the Finnish War Ministry.

The Airfence system uses radio frequency sensors to identify the location of a drone and its operator, and can electronically intercept it – either bringing it down or taking control of the drone itself. The system is equipped with a continually updating database of the main commercially-made drones, and provides 10 square kilometers of coverage. It can also be combined with other radar and optic sensor systems to identify drones that may have eluded the system's passive sensors.

The system was approved for use by a leading technological agency of the US War Department and has been sold to the Marine Corps. It was also part of an American Federal Aviation Administration project to protect airports from drones, and is being actively used in Ukraine.

According to the Finnish paper, the export license to “Israel” was only issued in January of this year, but the system has been in use in “Israel” for several years. In was featured in a Channel 12 report on the police preparations for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest held in “Israel”, though was unnamed in the segment. The Airfence interface was, however, visible on the screens in the police control room featured in the segment.

Netanyahu’s office, the “Shin Bet” and the “Israel” Police declined to answer questions from Haaretz on whether the purchases were made via a tender and whether “Israeli” solutions were also considered.