Finland Deploys Israeli Gabriel Missiles After Seven-Year Rollout

The Finnish navy has officially placed Israeli-made Gabriel Mk.5 anti-ship missiles on combat duty, seven years after selecting the system.
The report was published by Helsingin Sanomat.

The system, designated SSM2020 in the Finnish armed forces, is now one of the navy’s two main weapons alongside sea mines. The missiles are currently deployed on upgraded Hamina-class missile boats and will later be installed on new Pohjanmaa-class corvettes, the first of which is scheduled for launch in May 2025.

Finland chose the Gabriel Mk.5 to replace its outdated MTO85M anti-ship systems (the local designation for Saab’s RBS 15 Mk2) in 2018.

The missile was selected after a wide tender that included nearly all Western anti-ship systems of the time — the NSM from Kongsberg, Exocet from MBDA, Harpoon from Boeing and RBS 15 from Saab.

The contract was valued at €162 million, with an option worth up to €193 million. It covered launchers, missiles, simulators, spare parts and training. Deliveries were scheduled between 2019 and 2025.

The new SSM2020 missiles are expected to remain in service for decades, at least into the 2050s.

Gabriel 5

Gabriel 5 is an advanced Israeli anti-ship missile developed by Israel Aerospace Industries. The Israeli navy carried out its first test launch in September 2022.

The missile is equipped with a penetrating warhead designed to strike a wide range of maritime threats and can also be used against land targets.

It uses a turbojet engine, giving it subsonic flight at low altitudes, with a maximum range of more than 200 kilometers.

Guidance in the mid-course phase is provided by an inertial navigation system with satellite correction, allowing multiple waypoints to be set on the route to the target.

In the terminal phase, it uses an active radar seeker with advanced anti-jamming features. The system is designed for all-weather use and provides high resolution across a wide radar spectrum.