On December 12, 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Defense signed a contract with the Israeli shipbuilding company Israel Shipyards (Haifa) for the construction of five small rocket corvettes of the new type Reshef for the Israeli Navy, with an option for possible additional ships. The contract value is 2.8 billion shekels (780 million dollars). The contract is for five years, with the lead corvette due to be delivered to the fleet in 2027.
The latest published render image of a promising small rocket corvette of the Reshef type of the Israeli Navy (c) Israel Shipyards and the Israeli Ministry of Defense
As part of the Israeli Navy, new Reshef-type corvettes, the final planned number of which has not yet been precisely determined, should replace eight large 62-meter 500-ton missile boats of the Saar 4.5 project, commissioned from 1981 to 2003. The Reshef-type corvette project was developed by Israel Shipyards based on its export project of the 72-meter small corvette Saar-72. It is reported that the ships of the Reshef type will have slightly increased dimensions compared to the Saar-72 - a length of 76-77 meters and a width of 10.88 meters, and a total displacement of about 1,000 tons. The main power plant will be a three-shaft diesel or diesel-electric, with a full-stroke speed of up to 30 knots.
In 2023, it was reported that some (or all) of the hull sections of the Reshef-type corvettes would be manufactured in the United States by an unnamed American shipyard as a subcontractor, after which they would be delivered to the Israel Shipyards shipyard in Haifa for hull assembly. This will make it possible to finance the manufacture of hull sections at the expense of US military aid funds to Israel, and thus, the contract of 2.8 billion shekels probably does not cover the total cost of building ships.
The armament of the Reshef-type corvettes, according to the published render images, should include eight launchers of IAI Gabriel 5 anti-ship missiles, up to 40 vertical launchers of the Rafael C-Dome anti-aircraft missile system (shipboard version of the Iron Dome complex), container launchers of barrage ammunition, 76-mm Leonardo Oto Super Rapid universal artillery system, two 30-mm remote-controlled Rafael Typhoon artillery systems. A helipad is located at the stern, which can accommodate containerized weapons systems, primarily anti-submarine or mine-action ones. The electronic weapons will include the IAI Elta EL/M-2258 ALPHA (Advanced Lightweight Phased Array) general detection radar with AFAR on the mast, two electron-optical stations and an advanced electronic warfare system, including the Rafael Digital Shark and Elbit Systems/Elisra NS9003/AquaMarine systems and jamming systems.
A previously distributed image of the appearance of a promising small rocket corvette of the Reshef type of the Israeli Navy, demonstrating the characteristics and armament of the ship (s) of the Israeli Navy
