On May 23, 2019, the world’s most modern corvette was named INS Magen at a ceremony in Kiel. This marks another important milestone in the ongoing program of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems as General Contractor to build four next-generation SA’AR-6 class missile corvettes for the Israeli Navy. The ship was named by Mrs. Eti Sharvit, wife of Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit, Chief of the Israeli Navy, in presence of high-level representatives from the Israeli Government and Navy as well as high-ranking German Navy officials.
The ships design will be loosely based on the German Braunschweig-class corvette, but with engineering changes to accommodating Israeli-built sensors and missiles such as the Barak 8 and the naval Iron Dome system. The ships have the stealthy design of a low-signature missile corvette with tailor-made solutions and numerous new technologies on board. The Sa’ar 6 has a displacement of 2,000 tons and is 90 m (295 ft 3 in) long. It is armed with an Oto Melara 76 mm main gun, two Typhoon Weapon Stations, 32 vertical launch cells for Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles, the C-Dome point defense system, 16 anti-ship missiles, the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA radar, and two 324 mm torpedo launchers. It has hangar space and a platform able to accommodate a medium class SH-60-type helicopter.
The contract for the delivery of four SA’AR 6 corvettes was signed in May 2015. After the design phase, the construction phase started with the steel cutting ceremony of the first-of-class in February 2018. Only 15 months after the first steel cut, the ship was undocked, fulfilling its very ambitious schedule. The INS Magen is planned to be delivered in spring 2020 after completion of construction and testing. The other three ships will follow subsequently in intervals of a few months. This program proves once that the project partners ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and German Naval Yards Kiel can implement complex ship building programs not only with the highest quality, but also within highly ambitious schedules.
