New Delhi: The new Israeli navy landing craft built in the US will be equipped with different systems that will enable it to protect itself and participate in a combat scenario with enemy vessels.
On August 8, the delivery and flag-raising ceremony of the INS Nahshon landing craft, the first of two platforms to be received by the Israeli Navy, took place at the Pascagoula Shipyard in the United States. The ceremony was led by the Commanding Officer of Haifa Naval Base, RDML. Tal Politis, and senior officials in the procurement delegation of the Ministry of Defence.
According to an Israeli defence forces (IDF) release, the landing craft is a powerful combat vessel, which enables sailing to distant arenas. Its length is approximately 95 metres, its width is approximately 20 metres and its displacement exceeds 2500 tons. The team of the landing craft consists of dozens of naval combat soldiers, with a quarter of them being female. The commanding officer of the vessel is at the rank of Lieutenant Commander (Lt Cdr).
The landing crafts will act as a central pillar in adapting the Israeli Navy to the modern and multi-arena battlefield. Among other things, the landing crafts will serve as a logistical axis for transporting equipment as well as the soldiers in near and far areas.
Moreover, the landing crafts will enable the strengthening of the high-quality cooperation between the various units in the Israeli Navy, the Technological and Logistics Directorate and the other IDF branches, in order to strengthen the joint operational activity, and putting the multi-branch combat effort into action in routine and contingency situations.
The joint construction project by the IDF and the Ministry of Defence of the INS Nahshon landing craft’s platform began about 4 years ago. The project began when they were purchased by the procurement delegation of the Ministry of Defence with the FMF funds from the US government to Israel.
Now, the INS Nahshon landing craft will begin the final preparations phase which includes crew training and operational certification tests – when in a few months the landing craft will set sail and arrive at its home port in Israel. In the year 2024, the landing craft is set to be declared an operational vessel.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
