The Sa'ar 4 or ''Reshef'' class were a series of fast attack craft built based on

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...

designs grounded in accumulated experience derived in the operation of "Cherbourg" (Sa'ar 1, Sa'ar 2, and ) classes. Thirteen were built at the

Israel Shipyards Israel Shipyards is a large shipbuilding and repair facilities in the eastern Mediterranean. The company also operates a privately owned port in Israel. The company's facilities are located at the Kishon Port (part of the Port of Haifa complex) ...

, ten for the Israeli Navy and three for the

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prote ...

. Another six were built for the South African Navy in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

with Israeli assistance. Sa'ar 4 boats' first battle engagements occurred in the October 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

when two Sa'ar 4 boats, INS ''Reshef'' and INS ''Keshet'', engaged Egyptian and Syrian ships and coastal targets. Israel had sold most of its Sa'ar 4 boats to other navies, but INS ''Nitzachon'' and INS ''Atzmaut'' remained in active Israeli Navy service until 2014.

Variants

Israel

Ten Sa'ar 4-class boats were built for the Israeli Navy. only two remain in service. Three were disassembled, with systems taken for use in the construction of vessels. Three vessels and one hull stripped of systems were sold to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Two vessels were sold to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

South Africa

The (formerly designated Minister class) in service with the

are modified Sa'ar 4 (''Reshef''-class) fast attack craft. In 1974, a contract was signed with Israeli Military Industries for the construction of three of the modified Reshef class vessels at the

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

facility of Israeli Shipyards. A further three were built immediately after at the Sandock Austral shipyard in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa, with three more being built at the same facility several years later. The imposition of the international embargo on the sale of arms to South Africa on 4 November 1977 forced the project to be carried out under a cloak of security. The South African variants were fitted with Gabriel missiles, known in South Africa as 'Scorpion' missiles, and had two

OTO Melara 76 mm The OTO Melara 76 mm gun, marketed as the OTO 76/62 Gun Mount, is a naval autocannon built and designed by the Italian Defense contractor, defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/ ...

guns instead of a single one with a

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS () is an automated gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Co ...

Chile

In 1979, the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

purchased its first Sa'ar 4, followed by a second in 1980 and a final two boats in 1997. ''Papudo'' (ex INS ''Tarshish)'' was purchased with several missing systems and due to budgetary constraints was retired in 1998, only a year after entering service. All Sa'ar 4s in service with the Chilean Navy are armed with two

guns, eight Gabriel missile launchers and two

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models empl ...

with the exception of ''Angamos'' which was modernized in 2013 replacing four of the Gabriel missile launchers with four Exocet MM40 launchers. Three Sa'ar 4s remain in service as of 2020.

Sri Lanka

In 2000, two of the Israeli boats were sold to the

Sri Lankan Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...

, forming the . It is not certain if these boats retain the

Harpoon A harpoon is a long, spear-like projectile used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other hunting to shoot, kill, and capture large fish or marine mammals such as seals, sea cows, and whales. It impales the target and secures it with barb or ...

missile capability, however, these boats retained their Gabriel missile capability.

References

External links

Israeli Weapons dealer

Project ''Japonica'': The secret building of South African Strike Craft in Israel, 1975-79
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sa'ar 4 Class Missile Boat Missile boat classes Missile boats of the Israeli Navy Missile boats of the Chilean Navy Missile boats of the South African Navy Missile boats of the Sri Lanka Navy Israel–South Africa relations