Abord the Inc. (AP) – After a coronavirus-related delay, the Israeli navy is preparing for the long-awaited launch of its next missile missile – giving it a powerful new tool to protect its strategic natural gas industry from danger. Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.
Project Megan’s first missile boat is expected to arrive in early December, with three more German-built Corvettes expected to arrive in the next two years.
“It’s big. It’s new. It’s fast. “It’s better,” Rear Adam said. This was stated by the Chief of the Israeli Navy, Eiel Harel, during a rare tour of Israel’s Fashore Leviathan gas field. A huge gas platform was a few hundred yards away.
These ships, commonly referred to as “essence vessels,” will be at the forefront of Israel’s efforts to secure its 200-mile exclusive economic zone. The natural gas industry, which is seen as a national asset, is at the center of the effort.
According to the National Electric Company, Israel now generates about 60% of its electricity after gaining large reserves along the Mediterranean coast and has begun exporting gas to Arab neighbors Jordan and Egypt. Israel is also moving ahead with projects with Greece and Cyprus in hopes of building an East Mediterranean gas pipeline in Europe.
At the very stake, Hezbollah identified Israeli gas installations as high-priority targets. In a 2018 speech, the group’s leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said the government could destroy Israeli gas assets “in a matter of hours” if ordered. Hezbollah is part of an alliance that dominates Lebanese politics and government.
Israel takes such threats seriously. During a month-long war in 2006, four soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah cruise-missile strike on an Israeli warship “Sar-5”.
Flotilla Commander Lt. Col. Eaton Paz said the new ships will bring a welcome improvement in the good 5 years of old age, which is about 30 years old.
He said they will be equipped with new and more powerful radar and other electronic systems, and will be able to handle rough seas better than their predecessors. The 90-meter (295-foot) ships are equipped with rocket and missile defense systems, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and an upgraded launching pad for Israel’s new attack helicopters.
“Physically, it’s no bigger than Essence 5,” he said. “But it adds all these systems.”
He said the first boat, INS Magen or “Shield” was due to arrive in August, but delivery was delayed due to coronavirus. He said it would be deployed immediately and reach full operational capacity within a few months after the introduction of Israeli weapons systems at some stage.
Since the 2006 war, Hezbollah is believed to have greatly expanded its arsenal with about 150,000 rockets and missiles, according to Israeli estimates. Israel also accuses the group of trying to develop precision-guided missiles, which would make the arsenal more lethal.
Harel said the navy’s main concerns are Chinese-made C-802 missiles, such as the one struck by an Israeli ship in 2006, and the Russian-made anti-Yakhont anti-ship missiles with Hezbollah’s ally Syria.
But he said the military has learned a lesson from that war. “We are ready and we will be even more ready when we have a new ceasefire.”
Israel agreed to buy the ships in a 2015 deal worth about 430 million euros (તે 480 million at the time), with the German government covering about a quarter of the cost.
Several Israeli businessmen, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confidante and former naval commander, are suspected in a scandal involving the purchase of warships and submarines by the German organization ThyssenKrupp.
Netanyahu, who is on trial in three other corruption cases, was not named as a suspect in the scam and no one active in the Israeli navy is involved.
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Contributed to the Associated Press writer Joseph Federm in Jerusalem.
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