Israel, Germany to discuss missile ships

The Jerusalem Post ^ | Nov 18, 2009 | YAAKOV KATZ

[sukhoi-30mki]

Israel, Germany to discuss missile ships

By YAAKOV KATZ

A German defense delegation will arrive in Israel next month for high-level talks to focus on an Israeli request to purchase two Meko-class missile ships.

The delegation will be led by senior officials from the German Defense Ministry and the German Navy. Talks on the Israeli side will be led by Defense Ministry director-general Pinhas Buchris and Navy commander Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom.

While the Navy has yet to finalize its order, it is working on a concept under which the 2,000-ton ship would be designed by the German company Blohm and Voss, which manufactures the Meko family of warships.

The design would be similar to the existing Israeli Sa'ar 5-class ship but would be slightly larger, to enable it to carry the massive IAI-made Adir radar, capable of providing an extensive over-the-horizon radar view.

The ship will be capable of carrying special forces and larger infantry units as well as midsize vehicles, alongside at least one helicopter. The ship will also be installed with the anti-ship Harpoon Missile, as well as the Barak anti-missile defense system.

Each ship is expected to cost over $300 million, and Israel is hoping that the German government will provide part of the funding, as it has in the past for Israeli submarines.

Germany is currently building two Dolphin-class submarines for Israel, expected to become operational in the next few years.

[sukhoi-30mki]

CGI of an Israeli corvette equipped with the EL M-2248 Adir radar

[Yorlik803]

Cool, but how can it sail with that big dome around it?< JK>

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[rahbert]

In other words a Littoral Combat Ship for US$300M...
Meanwhile our is coming in at over US$1B!!

What does Bloem und Voss know that Northrop Grumman doesn’t?

[PIF]

I read somewere that Israel had approached Lockheed about the LCS 1 semi-planing monohull design but their price, as you said, was too high. (I don’t know if Israel approached General Dynamics about their LCS 2 trimaran design).

http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/littoral/

Also the Germans are decomissioning (or something) two of their ships which could be converted to the ships types Israel is asking for (which may account for some of the lower price). Germany will likely finance the ships for the Israelis.

[MinorityRepublican]

All of the high tech gadgets are nice but Israel needs to do more to improve their ground forces.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

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[wolf78]

What does Bloem und Voss know that Northrop Grumman doesn’t?

I think the idea is that sometimes you don't have to re-invent the wheel, in the spirit of that old joke that says that NASA Spent Millions to Develop a Pen that Would Write in Space, whereas the Soviet Cosmonauts Used a Pencil.

The Mehrzweck-Kombination (MEKO) family of warships uses a modular, standardized design that can be customized for the specific mission. Maybe not always as perfect a fit as a from the ground-up design, but capable enough at a fraction of the cost.

MEKO
Braunschweig class corvette
Brandenburg class frigate
Sachsen class frigate (destroyer)

[Jewbacca]

” how can it sail with that big dome around it.”

That’s from the Ark of the Covenent that is placed on the helm.

[Jewbacca]

“What does Bloem und Voss know that Northrop Grumman doesn’t?”

That the Israelis have good cost auditor accountants.