The innovative missile ship was handed over to the IDF at a ceremony at shipyards in the German city of Kiel • It is equipped with advanced capabilities designed to protect Israeli shores and gas rigs
The Magen missile ship // Photo: IDF Spokesman
A ceremony to transfer a flag, from the German flag to the Israeli flag, of the Saar 6 missile ship, Magen'I, the first of the Israeli missile fleet, took place today (Wednesday) in the city of Kiel in Germany.
The ceremony was held in the presence of the Commander of the Navy, Maj. Gen. Eliyahu Sharvit, Deputy Chief of Staff and Purchasing Director at the Ministry of Defense, Mr. Avi Dadon and other senior officials who took part in bringing the ships to Israel. The missile ship was handed over by the Thyssenkrupp marine systems in Germany to the Israeli Navy. The Israeli flag was hoisted on the new ship.
The Sea Arm is equipped with four new 'Saar 6' models: 'Shield', 'Oz', 'Independence' and 'Victory' which will be gradually absorbed into the Sea Arm over the next few years.
The first ship to reach the shores of the country, Magen, was first launched in May 2019. From the moment the ship arrives in Israel and after completing the process of installing combat systems, the vast majority of which are manufactured by Israeli industry, Magen will enter full-service operational service.
The IDF spokesman said: "The 'Storm 6' ships will be an integral part of the key stones in the naval defensive wall established by the IDF, as well as a central pillar in the defense system of the State of Israel's economic water space and marine energy resources."
The goal: to protect the gas rigs
Assault Ships 6 are a key part of the Navy's plan to protect Israel's economic waters, a code for gas rigs.
In recent years, gas rigs have become a central and major part of the Israeli energy economy, and Israel has shifted to producing electricity from gas instead of oil and coal.
At the same time, threats to the rigs have increased significantly in recent years.
Thus, for example, the precision missile threat, which used to be a "boutique" threat of individual missiles, suddenly became a "factory" threat of many dozens to hundreds.
One of the missiles that is particularly feared by the defense establishment is the "Yakhont" that is in Syria and has apparently not yet reached Lebanon.
It is a sea-level missile, flying at a very high speed of 300 km / h, which is not "another missile", because it is not at all easy to detect and is also complex to intercept it.
If that is not enough, in addition to the traditional cruise missiles, in recent years naval ballistic missiles have also entered the arena, including the Iranian Khalij Fares.
This is an accurate ballistic missile for naval purposes, requiring an interceptor different from the interceptors designed to handle the cruise missiles.
Apart from all these, the underwater threat has also developed in recent years, mainly of divers trying to carry out anti-personnel mines.
Hitting any of these threats on the rig, especially when it is "hot," that is, active, is no less than a catastrophe for the Israeli energy economy.
During a war, Israel will cool the rigs, but the cooling can only be for a limited time, of between 48 and 72 hours.
After this period of time it will be necessary to restart the rigs so as not to reach a state of power outages all over the country.