Israel Shipyards today at the Euronaval 2022 exhibition a new variant of its SAAR class corvette line – the SAAR S-80. The new vessel is based on the company’s S-72 RESHEF Class corvette, which serves in the Israel Navy as a Light Patrol and advanced multi-role vessel. The S-80 improves on its predecessor by minimizing radar cross section (RCS), and allocating larger deck space for weapon systems. Depending on the operational requirements, the platform can be configured into Corvette or OPV versions. Israel Shipyards intends to make the new S80 its flagship vessel for the next decade, serving the needs of the Israeli and foreign navies.
“The ship is designed for stealth, agility, and ruling the seas with cutting edge capabilities required in future combat scenarios.”, says Mr. Eitan Zucker, the company’s CEO “The S80 ship will enable navies to effectively protect their country’s sovereignty, maintain their economic waters, and win naval battles in times of war. The S80 has the
endurance to operate in the open sea and control the littoral. All this with optimal cost-benefit ratio.”
Compared to the S-72, the new generation of the S-80 class features greater versatility and higher payload capacity, with increased weapon suite capacity and a wider spread of Electronic Warfare (EW) systems as part of the platform offensive advantages. The ship is also capable of supporting special forces operations.
The S80 measures 80m long and 11 m wide, with a displacement of 1,000 tons; she is powered by four diesel engines, driving two controllable pitch propellor systems through two shaft lines. With this propulsion system, the S80 develops a top speed exceeding 28 knots. The vessel can operate at 3,500 nm (at a speed of 12 Kt.)The vessel offers a state-of-the-art ship control system with advanced health management capability.
