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Sa'ar 6: The New Backbone of Israel's Navy
(Jerusalem Post) Anna Ahronheim - The INS Magen is expected to reach Israel's shores by early December. The INS Oz, INS Atzma'ut and INS Nitzahon are expected to arrive by the end of 2021. The new ships will give the Navy a total of 15 missile ships along with the aging Sa'ar 5 ships that are nearing 30 years old. The Navy has to protect Israel's strategic depth under or over the surface of 44,000 km. of sea, almost double the size of the country. It also has to guard the natural gas rigs and protect the commercial shipping lanes which bring in 98% of Israel's imports. Hizbullah has made it clear that the gas rigs are targets should another war with Israel break out. In 2006 during the Second Lebanon War, Hizbullah struck the INS Hanit (a Sa'ar 5 corvette) with a Chinese C-802 anti-ship missile, killing four sailors. The Sa'ar 6 was built with that in mind and can deal with threats from the shore.