Posted on 05/24/2019 6:12:33 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The INS Magen, the Navys first Sa'ar 6 corvette, was officially named at a ceremony held at the Kiel shipyards in Germany.
The ceremony was headed by Navy Commander Maj.-Gen. Eli Sharvit, Defense Ministry Head of Procurement Avi Dadon, Navy Material Command head Yossi Ashkenazi, project head Brig.-Gen. Erez, as well as the Commander of the INS Magen Lt.-Col Baruch. Commanders and soldiers who took part in the project and shipyard employees also attended the ceremony.
The ceremony included the customary breaking a bottle of champagne on the ship's bow by the navy commander's wife, Etti Sharvit.
The construction of the four Saar 6 warships was agreed to in a 430 million euro deal between Israel and the German company ThyssenKrupp in 2015.
The INS Magen is expected to arrive in the spring of 2020.
The new Saar 6 are set to defend Israels strategic maritime assets such as the countrys offshore natural gas reserves, as well as maintaining Israel's sovereignty in the near and far seas, destroying the enemy's war fleets and significantly contributing to complex and secret missions in the war-between-war campaign.
The Sa'ar 6 corvettes, including the INS Magen, will significantly increase the strength of Israel's missile boat flotilla, and they will serve as the tip of the spear in protecting strategic Israeli interests, read a statement by the IDF Spokespersons Unit.
The Saar 6 will have a maximum speed of 26 knots and a crew of 70 sailors, a range of 2500 miles, and advanced capabilities able to deal with a wide range of threats. They will be fitted with two Naval Iron Dome short range defense missile launchers with 20 Tamir missile for each launcher and Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missile naval defense system.
They will also have 16 anti-ship missiles, one 76mm Oto Melara Super Rapid main gun, two Typhoon 25mm remote weapon stations and two 324mm torpedo launchers for MK54 Lightweight Torpedoes.
"Today, when we give the missile corvette a Hebrew name - the INS Magen - we add another significant brick to our country's protective wall. Building watercraft is like going on a long, many-year trip, Sharvit said at the ceremony. One step after another we walk a complex path which presents many challenges and requires close cooperation with many others along the way. I would like to thank all our partners in this journey, both in the Navy and outside of it.
"Just one year ago we stood here at a ceremony marking cutting the first metal, and here, a year later, we are standing in awe of the first of four ships, the INS Magen," said Avi Dadon, the head of the Defense Ministry's procurement department. "This unusual achievement is thanks to the hard work of Navy commanders and those in the Defense Ministry. Together with our partners in the German shipyard, you turned a dream into reality. This will dramatically influence the amount of power the Navy has."
Thyssenkrupp CEO Rolf Wirtz said, "We are very proud to contribute to Israel's security. The Sa'ar 6 ships are the most advanced and largest in the Israeli Navy. The Israeli industry will put together the final systems, and these ships will greatly aid the country's economy."
INS Magen. (Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems)
I wonder if they could carry a Harrier or maybe an F35.
good then they and SA can take care of Iran without us.
Decent looking ship, maybe seems a little top-heavy with all that enclosed superstructure so high up but still, nice lines.
Israel needs at least 10-15 of those vessels to take care of Iran .
Looks real good. Woe be to any third world shithole that thinks it can take out Israel when the latter has a full complement of those things!
good!
they’ll help Israel defend herself..
but what I find pretty amazing is how these pretty complex and sophisticated ships could get built in just one year... when it takes USA apparently 1000 years to just build a much simpler damned wall/fence
This ship, having been built in a moslem nation, requires an extensive Israeli inspection upon delivery, IMHO...
Thanks for your great posts! Always look forward to them! :-)
You are not too far off in your concerns. Some US flag merchant ships were built in Germany in the late 80’s with Turkish labor.
“...The Saar 6 will have a maximum speed of 26 knots....”
Didn’t the carrier Enterprise do 50 knots? Can be a problem.
The missile cruiser USS Long Beach was kept around home because she couldn’t keep up with the other ships.
This is NOT a lightly armed LCS we are wasting our money on.
This thing is
-Heavily-
Armed...
Does anybody see the irony in Germany building Israel’s ships? In a plant that built U-boats in the war?
CC
“Does anybody see the irony in Germany building Israels ships? ...”
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The irony is in U.S. Military gear and U.S.Flags made in PRC (China)
Funny looking ship. It has many balconies.
Umm, IIRC, almost all the submarines Israel has used in the past 40-odd years are of German origin or built in Germany itself.
I know that. But the irony of Germany building weapons for Israel is quite astonishing, considering world history.
CC
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