Israel's new Sa'ar 6 warship arrives in Haifa from Germany

The INS Magen, Israel's first Sa'ar 6 warship and the newest addition to the Navy, arrived in Haifa from Germany Wednesday evening, an event marked by a welcoming ceremony.

 "This is a holiday for the State of Israel, the IDF and the Navy," IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi said ahead of the ceremony. The ceremony also included speeches by Kochavi, President Reuven Rivlin and Navy commander Maj.-Gen. Eli Sharvit. 

Built by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems in Kiel, Germany, the INS Magen is the first of four Sa'ar 6 ships to come to Israel, and will be operational in the next year or two. The three others are named the INS Oz, the INS Atzma’ut and the INS Nitzahon, with the last expected to arrive by the end of 2021.

The Navy is relatively small compared to other IDF corps, and consists of patrol units, submarines (Shayetet 7), special naval forces (Shayetet 13) and missile boats (Shayetet 3). Despite this, it has to protect Israel’s largest strategic depth under or over the surface of some 44,000 sq.km. of sea, almost double the size of the entire country. (Read More)

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