Israeli Navy’s first Sa’ar 6 class missile corvette, INS Magen, arrived on the port of Haifa in Israel from Germany, on Dec. 2.
The Navy took supply of the vessel from German shipbuilder, thyssenkrupp Marine Programs (TKMS) on Nov. 11. TKMS is the prime contractor to construct 4 next-generation SA’AR-6 class missile corvettes for the Israeli Navy.
The Sa’ar 6 vessels are being constructed in Germany in a joint challenge by German Naval Yards Holdings (GNYH) and TKMS beneath a contract signed in Could 2015. Building price is estimated at NIS 1.Eight billion ($480 million) with Israel paying two-thirds of the price and the German Authorities subsidizing the remaining one-third, as with the Dolphin-class submarines.
The Sa’ar-6 class ships’ design is loosely based mostly on the German Navy’s Ok130 Braunschweig-class corvettes, however with engineering adjustments to render the baseline platform extra militarily strong. The vessels have the stealthy design of a low-signature missile corvette with tailored options and quite a few new applied sciences onboard.
The Sa’ar 6-class corvettes have a size of 90 m, a beam of 13 m and a full-load displacement of round 1,900 tons. They’ve a hangar area and a flight deck capable of accommodate a medium-class SH-60-type helicopter.
The vessels are armed with an Oto Melara 76 mm primary gun, two Hurricane Weapon Stations, 32 vertical launch cells for Barak-Eight surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), the C-Dome level protection system (naval model of the Iron Dome), 16 anti-ship missiles (AShMs), and two 324 mm torpedo launchers.
They’re outfitted with IAI Elta EL/M-2248 MF-STAR energetic electronically scanned array (AESA) radar which is able to monitoring each air and floor targets and offering fireplace management steerage. MF-STAR is an acronym of Multi-Operate Surveillance, Observe And Steerage Radar.
One of many roles of the vessels can be to guard pure fuel platforms within the Mediterranean sea towards attainable sea-borne or rocket threats.
After the completion of the design part, the development part began with the steel cutting ceremony of the first-of-class (INS Magen) in February 2018. Solely 15 months after the primary metal reduce, the ship was undocked, fulfilling its very bold schedule. The primary Sa’ar 6-class corvette was formally named INS Magen throughout a ceremony in Kiel, Germany on Could 23, 2019.
The remaining three ships – INS Oz, INS Atzmaut and INS Nitzahon – are deliberate for supply subsequently in intervals of some months.