Sa'ar 72-class corvette

The Sa'ar 72 (Hebrew: סער 72) is a class of Israeli Navy corvettes designed by Israel Shipyards Ltd. as an improved and stretched Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boat.^[1] The first Sa'ar 72 was expected to become operational in 2015 but the process to begin construction was not approved until 2024. Subsequent vessels were planned to enter service at the rate of one every eight months.^[2][3]

Class overview
Name	Sa'ar 72 class
Builders	Israel Shipyards Ltd.
Preceded by	Sa'ar 5-class corvette
Planned	5
Completed	0
General characteristics
Class & type	Corvette
Displacement	800 tonnes
Length	72 m (236 ft 3 in)
Beam	10.25 m (33 ft 8 in)
Draft	less than 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	two MTU 16V1163M94 V16 diesel engines; 5,920 kW (7,940 bhp) each
Speed	maximum: above 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	5,500 kilometres (3,000 nmi)
Endurance	21 days
Complement	50 officers and crewmen 20 passengers or commandos
Sensors & processing systems	IAI Elta EL/M-2258 ALPHA (Advanced Lightweight PHased Array) S-band multi-mission naval radar
Armament	8 RGM-84 Harpoon or Gabriel anti-ship missiles 16 Barak 8 surface-to-air missiles Otobreda 76 mm naval gun 2 Typhoon Weapon Station 6 Mark 32 torpedo tubes (Mark 46 torpedoes)
Aircraft carried	up to AW139 class
Aviation facilities	15.3 m (50 ft) helipad and helicopter hangar

History

The design was first unveiled at the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX) Asia in Singapore in May 2013.^[4]

On December 12, 2024, the Director General of the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD), Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eyal Zamir, publicly announced a procurement agreement from Israel Shipyards for five Sa'ar 72 type boats, dubbed "Reshef" in Hebrew, with a total value of approximately $780M (NIS 2.8B).^[5] This comes following a legislative committee approval to fund procurement of these vessels, among other military equipment.^[6] Steel cutting began in February 2025.^[7]

See also

• Sa'ar 62-class offshore patrol vessel
• Sa'ar 4-class missile boat
• Sa'ar 5-class corvette