Israel Unveils New SAAR-72 Mini Corvette

The Israel Navy is expanding the SAAR class of missile boats into ‘Mini Corvette’ class vessels with an ageing fleet of Saar 4, 4.5 missile boats and 5 corvettes. 

With a low defense budget, the Navy has been unable to procure larger vessels and therefore limited the procurement of the larger Saar 5 corvettes to the three vessels built in the U.S. funded by Washington’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS).

The new Saar S-72 unveiled by Israel Shipyard at the recent IMDEX event in Singapore fits between the Navy’s existing Saar 4.5 missile boats, and Saar 5 corvettes, hoping to expand its offering to meet the evolving requirements, of the Israel Navy, as well as of international customers overseas, according to reports.

For Coast Guards and non-military operations the S-72 is a new platform that better fits the category of Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). For naval applications the same 800-ton vessel can be finished as a versatile ‘Mini Corvette’.

Both are highly applicable to asymmetric warfare at sea, providing sufficient space for command and control, accommodation for special task forces on military or counter terror missions, or supporting rapid response or rescue operations.

In the military configuration the Saar-72 will offer a significant upgrade over the current Saar 4.5 – in performance and combat capabilities. The vessel can accommodate the IAI Elta EL/M-2258 Advanced lightweight Phased Array (ALPHA) multi-mission naval radar, designed for blue water and littoral warfare support. This radar was selected by the Israel Navy for the upgrading of existing vessels as well as for its new combatants.

The vessel can carry different weapons, including IAI’s Barak 8 type missiles, various anti-ship missiles and precision surface attack weapons. The naval configuration is also fitted with an advanced naval gun.

Saar 72 type vessels are designed with spacious accommodation to 50 crewmembers plus 20 additional accommodations for passengers or special troops. It is equipped to sail on a 21 day missions, with mission range above 3000 NM.