The Jerusalem Post:
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will provide advanced defense systems to Israel Navy’s new Sa’ar-6 corvettes to protect strategic maritime assets, the defense giant announced on Tuesday.
The contract was led by the navy, the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and the procurement administration in Israel’s Defense Ministry. The Barak- 8 system was chosen after it was demonstrated to meet the operational requirements and future challenges faced by Israel’s navy.
The systems will be used to protect Israel’s exclusive economic zone and strategic facilities that are faced with diversified threats in the marine arena.
Israel is highly dependent on the sea with over 90% of Israel’s imports arriving by boat, and while the country’s navy is relatively small compared to other IDF corps, it has a significant amount of territory to protect since the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) expanded five years ago from 40 miles from shore to 150 miles from shore.
