Israely Navy's New SA’AR 6 Corvette succesfully passed its first test drive.

Kiel shipbuilders can build corvettes in record time. Just two years and a month after construction began, the first of the four new corvettes of the Israeli Navy successfully passed its first test drive on the Baltic Sea last Tuesday and Wednesday.

Israel Navy’s first SA’AR 6-class corvette INS Magen (Picture source: Twitter account: Defensa_Israel)

The first SA’AR-6 class corvette was named INS Magen in May 2019. German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) acts as General Contractor to build four corvettes of this class for the Israeli Navy.

Each ship will carry an Oto Melara 76 mm main gun, two Typhoon Weapon Stations, 40 Barak 8 naval surface-to-air missiles to intercept and destroy all types of airborne threats such as anti-ship missiles, cruise missiles, combat aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

The ships will also be fitted with 16 anti-ship missiles such as Gabriel, RGM-84 Harpoon and RBS-15 Mk 3 to attack enemy ships and boats. The armament will also include two torpedo launchers for MK54 Lightweight Torpedo, and two 30mm Rafael Typhoon remote weapon stations.

The four corvettes were christened INS Magen, INS Oz, INS Independence and INS Victory in April 2018. The vessels are expected to be commissioned by the Israeli Navy between 2020 and 2022.

The warships will be used to conduct patrol duties in Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to protect the country’s gas reserves, shipping lanes and other strategic assets in the Mediterranean.

Israel Navy’s first SA’AR 6-class corvette INS Magen at the Kiel shipyard (Picture source: Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems)