[Lazamataz]

It occurs to me, that Israel could have placed a cheap, 3" thick, iron-or-steel decoy, about 50 meters to starboard of that boat, and It would have absorbed the impact of the missile. Why didn't they do this??

Have you tried to place an order at the 3" Thick Iron Or Steel Decoy Works, LTD?

They are a year backlogged!

[Shooter 2.5]

I heard there's a sale going on at the ACME website.

Wait. Those are only 2" thick and made out of plywood.

[Renfield]

It wouldn't be too hard to make a planing-hull catamaran, with a steel cutout on top that mimicked the profile of the Israeli frigate, and run it alongside the ship. Probably a couple of 600-horse diesels would do for power. Heck, it would probably even be possible to make it out of wood with a steel exoskeleton, to give a radar signature.

Four or five or six of these could surround the actual frigate, to provide cover. It would be the same defensive strategy as small fish use in schooling. Cheap, and effective.