Northrop Grumman Corp. said Wednesday that it has teamed with Israeli defense firm RADA Electronic Industries Ltd. to build a laser-based missile defense system for Israel.

The system, which is called the Skyguard High Energy Laser Defensive System, will be built at Northrop’s new Redondo Beach laser facility. According to Northrop, the Skyguard system is designed to protect large civilian, military or industrial sites from multiple missile attacks. Northrop hopes to deploy the first system in Israel within 18 months.

Separately, Northrop’s purchase of Columbia, Md., signal intelligence firm Essex Corp. was cleared by the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday.

The regulators took extra time to review the deal due to antitrust concerns, Northrop said earlier this month.

Under the agreement, announced late last year, Northrop will pay $24 cash for each share of Essex stock. Essex does about $234 million a year in revenues and employs about 760 people.

Shares in Essex were up 6 cents to $23.96 on Wednesday while shares in Northrop were up 12 cents to $71.71.