Nairobi, May 4 -- Kenya has secured a Sh6.1 billion Israeli-backed loan to acquire a high-tech missile defence system, strengthening its ability to counter aerial threats amid rising regional insecurity and concerns that the Israel-US war against Iran could spill over into the Horn of Africa.

The funding for the financial year starting July 2026 marks a 79.4 percent increase from the Sh3.4 billion the Ministry of Defence is expected to receive from Tel Aviv in the current financial year ending June, according to a Treasury budget report.

Two years ago, the Treasury revealed that Kenya was seeking a Sh1 billion loan from Israel to buy a system dubbed the Spyder Defence System.

The Spyder - short for Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby - is ...