Sa'ar 6-class corvette
The Sa'ar 6-class corvette is a class of four German-made warships ordered for the Israeli Navy in May 2015. The ships' design will be loosely based on the German Braunschweig-class corvette, but with engineering changes to accommodate Israeli-built sensors and missiles such as the Barak 8[3] 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.[4]
Scale model of the Sa'ar 6 | |
Class overview | |
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Name: | Sa'ar 6 class |
Operators: |
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Preceded by: | Sa'ar 5 class |
Planned: | 4 |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Corvette |
Displacement: | 1,900 long tons (1,900 t) at full load[1] |
Length: | 90 m (295 ft 3 in) |
Range: | 4,000 km [2] |
Sensors and processing systems: | EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA radar |
Armament: |
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All four vessels will be constructed in Germany in a joint project by German Naval Yards Holdings and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The first of the class is scheduled to get delivered in 2020.[5][6] Construction cost is estimated at NIS 1.8 billion Israeli new shekel (NIS) or roughly 430-million Euro ($480-million).[7] 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.[8]
One of their roles will be to protect natural gas platforms in the Mediterranean Sea against possible sea-borne or rocket threats.[7] The Lebanese Hezbollah group alleges that Israel's gas fields lie in Palestinian waters. It has threatened to target Israeli gas platforms.[9]
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, 16 vertical launch cells for Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles,40 cells for the C-Dome point defense system, 16 anti-ship missiles, the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA radar, and two 324 mm torpedo launchers. It has hangar space and a platform able to accommodate a medium class SH-60-type helicopter.[10]
References
- Israeli Navy INS Magen corvette officially named 27th May 2019
- 26th May 2019
- Opall-Rome, Barbara (August 4, 2016), "Israeli Navy Marks Milestones at German Shipyards", Defense news.
- "Elbit Systems to supply EW suites for the Israeli Navy Sa'ar 6-class corvettes] Aug 7, 2018", Defence (blog).
- Israeli Navy INS Magen corvette officially named 27th May 2019
- Azulai, Yuval (11 May 2015). "Israel signs €430m deal for German patrol vessels". Globes. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- "Israel to arm warships with Iron Dome system to protect gas reserves at sea". i24news. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- Zitun, Yoav (11 May 2015). "Major deal: Israel to purchase four patrol ships from Germany to defend gas rigs". ynet. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- Yaniv Kubovich, "Israel Assesses Hezbollah Can Now Strike Its Offshore Gas Platforms", Haaretz, 4 January 2018
- "Design of Future TKMS Built Saar 6 MEKO A100 Corvettes for Israeli Navy Unveiled", Navy recognition, 23 August 2015.
External links
- "Germany says it will help finance four new Israeli warships". Israel Hayom. December 16, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2016 – via Reuters.
- LAPPIN, Yaakov (May 26, 2016). "How navy engineers made the next missile ship stealthy". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 5, 2016.