Sa'ar 6 corvette of Israeli Navy to be armed with advanced Naval Iron Dome air defense system

According to information published by the Israeli Ministry of Defense on February 1, 2021, an advanced naval version of the Iron Dome air defense missile system will be installed onboard the new Sa'ar 6 corvette of the Israeli Navy.
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The C-Dome air defense system mounted on Sa'ar 6 corvette includes a 40-round canister located at the front deck and loaded with vertically-launched Tamir surface-to-air missiles for 360-degree coverage. (Picture source NavalAnalyses.com)

The Sa'ar 6 is a new generation of corvette built by the German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) for the Israeli Navy. In January 2015, the Israeli Ministry of Defence placed an order with TKMS for four new patrol vessels and the order was finalized in May 2015.

The steel-cutting ceremony of the ship was held in February 2018 and the initial sea trials of INS Magen began in March 2020. The first Sa'ar 6 corvette was delivered to the Israeli Navy in December 2020. The ship is based on a stealthy design of a low-signature missile corvette with tailor-made solutions and numerous new technologies onboard.

The Sa'ar 6 corvette is armed with one Oto Melara 76 mm main gun, two Typhoon remotely-operated weapon station armed with 25mm automatic cannon,32 vertical launch cells for Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles, 40 vertical launch cells for C-Dome point defense system mounted at the front deck, 16 Gabriel missile(Gabriel V anti-ship missile) and two 324 mm (13 inches) torpedo launchers.

The Sa'ar 6 corvette is armed with the naval version of the Iron Dome, dual mission counter rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM), and Very Short Range Air Defense (VSHORAD) system, named C-Dome.

The C-Dome is designed to effectively protect combat vessels against aerial threats. The system handles saturation attacks by engaging multiple targets simultaneously. Reaction time is very short and enables automatic and semi-automatic engagements.

The C-Dome air defense system mounted on Sa'ar 6 corvette includes a 40-round canister loaded with vertically-launched Tamir interceptors for 360-degree coverage, a feature not supported by the land-based Iron Dome system. 

The C-Dome utilizes the ship’s own surveillance radar and does not require a dedicated Fire Control Radar. Weapon System Command and Control is seamlessly integrated with the ship’s combat management system, facilitating system operation.

The original dome is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 kilometers to 70 kilometers away. The new advanced version will be able to intercept targets at a maximum range of 250 km.