Sa'ar 5-class missile boat
Encyclopedia : S : SA : SAA : Sa'ar 5-class missile boat
| General Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Basic Displacement: | 1227 tons |
| Length: | 85.64 meters |
| Beam: | 11.88 metres |
| Draft: | 3.17 metres |
| Speed: | 32 knots (61 km/h) |
| Complement: | 64, including officers and crew (+10 aircrew) |
| Armament: | 8 RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, 8 Gabriel SSN missiles, 2 Barak launchers, 20mm Phalanx CIWS Mk.15, 2 x Mk 32 torpedo launchers (6 tubes) |
Sa'ar 5 (Hebrew: סער 5) is a class of Israeli Navy missile boat, designed based on lessons learnt from the Sa'ar 4.5 class ships. Three Sa'ar 5 ships were built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (formerly Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation of Pascagoula, Mississippi) for the Israeli Navy, based on Israeli designs. The Sa'ar 5 ships are considered the Israeli fleet's most advanced surface ships, costing US$260 million each.
The first of class, INS Eilat, was launched in February 1993, followed by INS Lahav in August 1993 and INS Hanit in March 1994.
Combat history
On July 14, 2006, while enforcing a blockade off Beirut the INS Hanit was attacked by Hezbollah, apparently using a Chinese-designed C-802 (CSS-N-8 Saccade) or C-701 missile supplied by Iran. [link] A large explosion caused the landing pad to cave in and be engulfed in flames that threatened the aviation fuel storage below, and the flames were not fully extinguished until several hours later. The ship suffered critical damage near the helicopter landing pad (or, according to the press conference, near the bridge) and was on fire for several hours and temporarily lost its ability to steer. Four sailors were killed, three of whom were found later in the ship.
According the the Israeli Navy, the ship's sophisticated automatic missile defense system was intentionally disabled. This was done for two reasons, one, there were many Israeli Air Force aircraft conducting operations in the vicinity of the ship and it was feared that the system may accidently be triggered by a friendly aircraft, potentially shooting it down. Second, there was no intelligence pointing to the fact that such a sophisticated missile, roughly equivalent to the American Harpoon, was deployed in Lebanon by Hezbollah.
Iran is known to produce copies of the C-802 and C-701 missiles, and is suspected to have supplied them to Hezbollah. The Iranian copies of the C-701 is known as the Kosar.
Technical data
- Maximum speed - 33 knots
- Cruise speed on diesel motors - over 20 knots
- Endurance - 3,500 NM
Defensive systems
Detection Systems
- Air search radar - Elta EL/M-2218S
- Fire control radar - Elta EL/M-2221
- Sonar - Type 796 hull-mounted sonar Rafael towed sonar array
Decoys
- Deceiver decoy system AN/SLQ-25 Nixie towed decoy
- Elisra NS-9003A/9005
Electronic Warfare measures
- RAFAEL jammer
C&C Systems
- Elbit NTCCS
Helicopter
Sa'ar 5 can carry two Dolphin Helicopters (SA-366G Dauphin), Kaman SH-2F, or Sikorsky S-76N helicopters - one on the landing pad and the other inside the hangar.See also
References
External links
- [Naval Technology]
- [Global Security]
- [Hazegray]
- [Ha'aretz: 4 soldiers missing after naval vessel hit off Beirut coast]
- [Israeli-Weapons]
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