"A ceremony which marked the construction initiation of the Saar 6 Class Corvettes was held in Kiel, Germany. Four Saar 6 Class Corvettes will be integrated gradually into the Israeli Navy over the next three years," it was announced Wednesday on the official IDF Twitter account.
Israeli Navy Commander Aluf Eli Sharvit has described the German-build corvettes as key to the maritime missile shield.
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The sea-based Iron Dome went live last November. Together with three US-built ships already in service, the four corvettes will protect the Jewish state’s gas rigs and shipping lanes from rocket attacks, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.