Israeli Navy’s third Sa’ar 6 Class Corvette ‘INS Atzmaut’ arrives in Israel

Israeli Navy’s Sa’ar 6 class corvette Atzmaut arrived in Israel on Tuesday (Aug 10). After a two-week voyage, the ship arrived at the Navy’s Haifa base. A ceremony was held for the ship’s arrival in Israel. The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and the Commander of the Israeli Navy, Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit, attended the ceremony.

The INS Atzmaut is the third out of four Sa’ar 6-class corvettes that will join the Israeli Navy. These ships will form an important part of Israel’s defense network for the country’s economic waters and offshore energy resources. The installation of combat and weapon systems will be made in Israel. After the installation of weapon systems at the Israeli Navy’s shipyard in Haifa, the ship will become operational.     

Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, said “Iran has attempted to strike Israeli targets in the maritime domain in recent weeks. This isn’t solely an Israeli issue. Iran’s aggression against uninvolved civilians was witnessed by the entire world. Iran and its proxies were active on the northern border again just last weekend.”

The Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit, said, “The INS Atzmaut entered the gates of Haifa port today, and like its two sister ships from the Sa’ar 6 series, expresses the power of the Israeli Navy and substantially contributes to the security of the State of Israel. This is a day of celebration for us, and besides the pride and the confidence, this is a day we assume a great responsibility, and I am confident we will bear it well.”

SA’AR 6-class corvettes:

The 1,900 tons, 90 meters-long ships have the stealthy design of a smaller RCS missile corvette with tailor-made solutions and numerous new technologies on board. The contract for the delivery of four Sa’ar 6 corvettes was signed in May 2015.

In terms of weapon systems, the Sa’ar 6 will be heavily armed given their small size and displacement:- Oto Melara 76 mm main gun,
– 2xTyphoon 25mm Weapon Stations,
– 32 vertical launch cells for Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles,
– 2xC-Dome point defence systems (with 20 Tamir missiles each),
– 16 (4xquad launchers) anti-ship missiles (probably Gabriel V)
– 2×324 mm torpedo launchers.
– Each ship will also be outfitted with cyber and electronic warfare systems. The sensor suite includes the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA radar. Magen-class corvettes have hangar space and a platform able to accommodate a medium-class SH-60-type helicopter.

Check out Naval Library App to find out the specifications of the Sa’ar 6 class corvettes.