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Sa'ar 6-class corvette

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INS Magen launching a Barak LRAD in its first testfire.
Class overview
NameSa'ar 6 class
Operators Israeli Navy
Preceded bySa'ar 5 class
CostNIS 1.8 billion (US$557 million) per unit (2015 est.)
Planned4
Completed4
Active4
General characteristics
TypeCorvette
Displacement1,900 long tons (1,900 t) at full load[1]
Length90 m (295 ft 3 in)
Range4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) [2]
Complement70
Crew70 [3]
Sensors and
processing systems		EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys		C-GEM RF Active Decoy
Armament

The Sa'ar 6-class corvette is a series of four German-made corvettes ordered for the Israeli Navy in May 2015. These are operated by Shayetet 3 flotilla.

Development

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The ships' design is loosely based on the German Braunschweig-class corvette, but with engineering changes to accommodate Israeli-built sensors and missiles such as the Barak 8[4] and the naval Iron Dome system. Elbit Systems has been awarded the contract to design and build the electronic warfare (EW) suites for the ships.[citation needed]

All four vessels were constructed in Germany in a joint project by German Naval Yards Holdings and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The first of the class was scheduled to be delivered in 2020.[1][5] Construction cost was estimated at NIS 1.8 billion Israeli new shekel (NIS) or roughly 430 million Euros ($480 million).[6] Israel will pay for two thirds of the cost and the German Government will subsidize a third of the corvettes' construction costs, as with the Dolphin-class submarines.[7]

Missions

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The Lebanese Hezbollah group alleges that Israel's gas fields lie in Lebanese waters. It has threatened to target Israeli gas platforms.[8] An Israeli-owned ship reportedly came under missile fire repeatedly near the United Arab Emirates. The ship was en route to the UAE from Kuwait, according to Channel 12 news.[9][10]

The Sa'ar 6 has been adopted for maritime protection, anti-shipping and prevent threats in the Israeli exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Sa'ar 6 is also used to defend Israeli shipping lanes in the Mediterranean to import more than 90 percent of goods for Israel.[11] One of their roles will be to protect natural gas platforms in the Mediterranean Sea against possible seaborne terrorism attacks or rocket threats.[6]

Characteristics

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The Sa'ar 6 has a displacement of almost 1,900 tons at full load and is 90 m (295 ft 3 in) long. It is armed with an Oto Melara 76 mm main gun, two Typhoon Weapon Stations, 32 vertical launch cells for Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles, 40 cells for the C-Dome point defense system, 16 anti-ship missiles Gabriel V,[12][13] the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA radar, and two 324 mm (12.8 in) torpedo launchers. It has hangar space and a platform able to accommodate a medium class SH-60-type helicopter.[14]

Israel received the first of four Sa'ar 6-class corvettes, INS Magen, on 11 December 2020;[15] Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems officially handed over the second corvette, INS Oz, on 4 May 2021.[16] On July 27, 2021, the final two ships, INS Atzmaut and INS Nitzachon, were also delivered to the Israeli Navy by the builder. They were to be equipped with radar and weapon systems by the Israeli Navy after their arrival in Israel.[17] In Haifa in September 2022, the vessel's 76/62 rapid-fire main gun was ceremonially accepted for the first two ships of the class.[18]

Ships of class

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Sa'ar 6-class corvette
Name Builders Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
Magen (Defender/Shield) German Naval Yards Holdings & ThyssenKrupp 7 February 2018 12 May 2019 11 November 2020 Active
Oz (Courage) February 2018[19] 24 August 2019 4 May 2021
Atzmaut (Independence) 2018 2019[17] 23 April 2023[20]
Nitzachon (Victory) 2018 2019[17] 12 December 2023[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Israeli Navy INS Magen corvette officially named". shephardmedia.com. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  2. ^ https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israeli-navy-inaugurates-first-saar-6-corvette-59059026 May 2019 Archived 15 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Sa'ar 6 Class Corvettes". Naval Technology. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  4. ^ Opall-Rome, Barbara (4 August 2016). "Israeli Navy Marks Milestones at German Shipyards". defensenews.com. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  5. ^ Azulai, Yuval (11 May 2015). "Israel signs €430m deal for German patrol vessels". Globes. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Israel to arm warships with Iron Dome system to protect gas reserves at sea". i24news. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  7. ^ Zitun, Yoav (11 May 2015). "Major deal: Israel to purchase four patrol ships from Germany to defend gas rigs". ynet. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  8. ^ Kubovich, Yaniv (4 January 2018). "Israel Assesses Hezbollah Can Now Strike Its Offshore Gas Platforms". Haaretz. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  9. ^ Fassihi, Farnaz; Schmitt, Eric; Bergman, Ronen (6 April 2021). "Israel-Iran Sea Skirmishes Escalate as Mine Damages Iranian Military Ship". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  10. ^ staff, T. O. I. "Israeli-owned ship said attacked off UAE coast amid sky-high tensions with Iran". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  11. ^ GDC (9 July 2021). "Israel Adopts Sa'ar 6 As Maritime Anti-ship Doctrine". Global Defense Corp. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  12. ^ Dombe, Ami Rojkes (29 September 2020). "Sea-to-sea missile test conducted". Israel defense. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  13. ^ Adamcyzk, Ed (25 September 2020). "Israel tests new sea-to-sea missile". UPI. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Design of Future: TKMS Built Sa'ar 6 Meko A100 Corvettes for Israeli Navy Unveiled", Navy recognition, 23 August 2015, retrieved 27 January 2021
  15. ^ Kanig, Christian (12 November 2020). "Korvette "Magen" kurz vor der Abreise nach Israel". Europäische Sicherheit & Technik (in German). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  16. ^ Archus, Dorian (4 May 2021). "TKMS hands over 2nd Sa'ar 6 corvette to the Israeli Navy". Naval Post. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  17. ^ a b c ""INS Atzmaut" and "INS Nitzachon" handed over to Israeli Navy". Sea Waves.
  18. ^ "Israeli Navy Accepts Leonardo Main Gun for Saar 6 corvettes". 15 September 2022.
  19. ^ "TKMS Hand Over Second Sa'ar 6 Corvette To The Israeli Navy". Naval News. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Larger, more powerful: Navy declares fleet of Sa'ar 6-class warships operational". The Times of Israel. 23 April 2023.
  21. ^ "Navy declares 4th advanced Sa'ar 6-class warship operational, sends one to Red Sea | The Times of Israel". The Times of Israel.

Further reading

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