Israeli Navy Commander in Chief has announced the names of the four Sa’ar 6 vessels currently under construction in Germany.
In an announcement on April 22, Major General Eli Sharvit said the new ships would be named INS Magen, Oz, Independence and Victory.
Construction on the new class of ships started at the Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems shipyard in Kiel, Germany, with a keel-laying ceremony in February this year. The first ship is set for delivery in 2019 while all four ships are expected to be delivered by 2021.
The agreement for the construction of Magen-class ships was signed between Israel and Germany in May 2015. The corvettes are loosely based on Germany’s Braunschweig-class (K130) corvettes with improved stealth features.
Measuring 90 meters in length and displacing around 2,000 tons, the Sa’ar 6-class corvettes will feature a high-trajectory anti-missile system and a high-trajectory shooting interceptor, close and far-reaching attack capability, long-term survivability, sea and air detection capabilities, and the ability to carry a Seahawk helicopter.
In addition, the ships will be equipped with the Naval Iron Dome, Barak 8, electronic warfare systems, cyber defense systems and means of detection and surveillance.
“We will receive the ships in about two years, each one a few months after the last,” Major General Eli Sharvit said. “The arrival of the ships is expected to significantly change the face of the Navy and the Shayetet 13 (Israeli Navy special operations unit) in particular.”