Finnish Navy deploys Israeli-made Gabriel-5 anti-ship missile in combat roles

The Finnish Navy has officially placed an Israeli-made anti-ship missile into operational service, according to Finland's Helsingin Sanomat. Known as the Surface Defense Missile 2020 by the Finnish Defense Forces and as the Gabriel-5 in Israel, the weapon is manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries.

The anti-ship weapon replaces Finland’s Swedish-made M85 missile system, which is set to be fully retired by the end of the decade. The Finnish Navy is the first foreign navy to deploy the missile, following a series of summer exercises, including August trials that tested its performance and integration.

It will be placed on the existing Hamina-class fast-attack missile boats. Later, they will also be installed on Pohjanmaa-class corvette vessels, which are still under construction. The Gabriel-5 can also be launched from land-based vehicle platforms. 

The missiles can be used on both land and sea-based targets and have a reported range of around 300 kilometers (186 miles). They navigate by using a combination of satellite positioning and inertial navigation, as well as a radar-seeking head. 

The missile is a so-called sea-skimming projectile, meaning it flies very low above the waves to evade radar and infrared detection.

While the purchase of Israeli-made weapons systems has led to some controversy within Finland, Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen argued that Finland's substantial arms purchases from Israel are extremely important for its defense in the current climate, are top-quality systems, and are very well suited to the Finnish Defense Forces. 

In 2023, Finland and Israel signed a major defense deal that included the purchase of the David’s sling high-altitude missile defense system, valued at EUR 316 million ($371 million). 

Last month, Häkkänen told Finland's Yle News that the situation in Gaza did not necessitate a change in the country’s defense agreement, since Finland does not export arms to Israel. 

"For years, no actual weapons have been exported from Finland to Israel, and other exports of defense and dual-use items have also been very limited. The individual exports have mainly been various equipment related to protection. Nor are there any new export openings to Israel planned," Häkkänen stated. 

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland – which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia and access to the Baltic Sea – has accelerated efforts to modernize its defense systems, with a particular focus on naval capabilities.

Rear Admiral Tuomas Tiilikainen, commander of the Finnish Navy, called the Gabriel-5 a “significant step forward.”

“The introduction of the surface defense system is a very significant step forward for the Finnish Navy and naval defense,” Tiilikainen said in a statement announcing the deployment. 

“By installing this system on several different platforms, we will achieve combat resistance and wide-area striking power against land and sea targets in the challenging circumstances of the modern battlefield and that of the future,” he continued. 

The Gabriel-5 offers two targeting modes: a fire-and-forget option that relies on preloaded data, and a fire-and-update option, in which the missile receives continuous targeting updates after launch.