Israeli defence ministry launches corvette construction program

The Israeli Ministry of Defence (MOD) has formally launched a program for the construction of new corvettes for the Israeli Navy.

The new class of vessels will be named Reshef after the Hebrew translation of "flame." The corvettes will be equipped with indigenously produced combat systems and will be used to assist in protecting Israel's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as well as offshore oil and gas facilities within Israel's territorial waters.

The MOD has selected local shipbuilder Israel Shipyards to design the Reshef-class corvettes as replacements for the Israeli Navy's 1990s-built Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boats.

Israel Shipyards will build and deliver five corvettes to the navy over a period of six years. Options are also available for the construction of additional corvettes.

Each Reshef-class corvette will have an LOA of 76 metres, a beam of 10.88 metres, a draught of 3.12 metres, a displacement of 1,000 tonnes, and a speed of 30 knots. Armament will include a 76mm naval gun, a 30mm cannon on a Typhoon remote weapon station, and anti-ship missiles. The electronics suite will include a phased array air search and tracking radar.