Israel Shipyards Wins Landmark Order for Five Corvettes

The Israeli government has signed a landmark order for five new missile corvettes with Haifa-based Israel Shipyards. The acquisition program is the first significant Israeli-built surface combatant order in years, and some of the hull sections will be built by an American shipyard, according to Naval News. 

The Israeli Military Procurement Ministerial Committee approved the long-awaited purchase of five new "Project Reshef" missile boats in late November. The Reshef design was created by Israel Shipyards as an evolution of its Sa'ar 72-class corvette design, first unveiled in 2013. The company secured a long-awaited $780 million contract for construction in a signing ceremony last week.

An early illustration of the vessel suggests an overall length of about 250 feet, a top speed of 30 knots and a displacement of about 1,000 tonnes. This compact package carries a 76 mm deck gun, a marinized variant of the Iron Dome air defense system, a small complement of anti-ship missiles and an array of electronic countermeasures to defeat incoming threats. The new vessels will be larger and more capable than the Israeli Navy's aging Hetz/Nirit-class missile boats, which the Reshef-class will replace.

According to Naval News, Israel Shipyards will be working with an American shipyard subcontractor, which will supply the program with hull modules fabricated in the United States. This satisfies the American-built requirement of the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, allowing Israel to draw on its annual U.S. defense funding grant to cover a portion of the vessels' cost. The name of the yard was not disclosed, nor the U.S. cost contribution. 

"Manufacturing [the Reshef-class] in Israel will preserve and expand the country's sole strategic production line for combat ships, enhance functional independence and continuity, and ensure hundreds of jobs in northern Israel," said Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eyal Zamir, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. "I am confident that other nations will follow the Israeli Navy's lead and seek to procure Israeli combat ships."

Israel's navy hopes to have the first-in-class vessel delivered and operational within two years' time.