There was no big celebration, the formal acceptance of the “Magen” took place on October 30th on a small scale in the presence of the construction supervisor in the hangar of the Israeli corvette on the pier in Kiel. Individual training was carried out with a crew from the Israeli Navy under the shipyard flag from November 3rd to 5th. The “Magen” will leave Kiel on November 12th. The day before, she is due to be formally commissioned into service by the Israeli Navy. She is scheduled to reach Haifa on November 27th.
The corvette, built at German Naval Yards, is part of the program of four Sa'ar 6-class units, whose construction began in 2014. The contract was signed with the general contractor Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems in May 2015. Building number 1 was launched in April 2019, 14 months after construction began, and christened “Magen” – Hebrew for protection, shield – on May 23, 2019. The four ships are partly financed by Germany. According to reports, the support will amount to 115 million euros with a total order volume of 430 million euros. When assessing the price, it should be taken into account that the electronic components will largely be integrated in Israel, as will the armament.
The federal government justifies the arms cooperation as a German contribution to Israel's security. This is how the policy of guaranteeing existence is to be implemented. Section 60 of the federal budget contains funds for the procurement of defense systems for Israel. This is in connection with the commitment to special historical responsibility towards Israel.
Die aktuelle Doktrin der ‚Israel Defence Forces‘ sieht vor, der iranischen Bedrohung für Israel zu begegnen. Sie wendet sich insbesondere gegen die iranische Präsenz in Syrien und im Libanon. Auf See bedeutet das, sich den potenziellen Raketenbedrohungen aus diesen Ländern zu stellen. Israels Philosophie ist, dass jede Rakete, die das Verteidigungsnetzwerk durchdringt, ein Risiko für die lebenswichtigen Offshore-Plattformen Israels ist. Aufgabe der Sa’ar 6 wird deren Schutz sein – als seewärtiges Auge und maritimer Arm im Verbund mit den land- und luftgestützten Systemen wie Iron Dome und zukünftig F-35. Im Grunde geht es darum, mit der Sa’ar 6-Klasse den Schirm des Sensor- und Effektorenverbundes auf das Meer zu erweitern – „Magen“. Für die nächsten 30 Jahre sollen die vier Korvetten der Sa’ar 6-Klasse „Magen“, „Oz“, „Atzmaut“ und „Nitzachon“ gemeinsam mit den U-Booten der Dolphin-Klasse das Rückgrat der israelischen Marine darstellen.
The armament of the 90-meter-long, 1,900-ton displacing corvettes includes Harpoon ship-to-ship missiles and two different air defense systems: C-Dome (navalized version of the Iron Dome) and Barak. Of the electronic equipment, ELTA's MF-STAR (ELM-2248) is known, an active phased array radar. In addition, there is the ability to accommodate medium-sized helicopters (Seahawk). Crew: 80 women and men.
arming
- 1 x 3"L/62 Leonardo
- 2 x 25mm Typhoon guns
- 16 Harpoon II anti-ship missiles (four quadruple launchers)
- 32 Barak 8 anti-aircraft missiles (VTOL)
- 40 Tamir short-range defense missiles (C-Dome system)
- 6 x 32.4 cm torpedo tubes (two triple torpedo tubes for Mk 54 torpedoes)
- 1 onboard helicopter (Sikorsky SH-60F Seahawk or Eurocopter AS565 Panther)
Hans Uwe Mergener
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