Israel agreed to sell the modern Barak MX air defense system to Slovakia for approximately 560 million euros, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced on Monday. According to him, the agreement will further strengthen ties between Israel and the Slovak Republic and at the same time strengthen Slovakia’s defense capabilities. This is the largest defense export contract between these countries, wrote the Reuters agency, from which TASR drew its report.
According to the agreement, Israel will sell to Slovakia the Barak MX integrated air defense system, which is manufactured by the state company Israel Aerospace Industries. Cyprus recently took over such a system, Azerbaijan also bought it last year. This system is designed to deal with a variety of threats from the air – including fighter jets, helicopters, drones, cruise missiles, air-to-ground missiles and ballistic missiles. According to Israel, it can intercept missiles at a distance of up to 150 kilometers.
“The expansion of Israel’s defense exports during the war (in the Gaza Strip) is a direct result of Israeli technology proving itself on the battlefield,” said the CEO of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Eyal Zamir. According to him, more and more countries are interested in “the exceptional performance of the Israeli army and Israeli combat systems, both defensive and offensive.”
He added that the export of arms products is the key to Israel’s security and economic strength. “It allows us to continue developing the next generations of the most advanced combat systems in the world. I believe that other NATO countries will follow Slovakia’s example,” he noted.
