IDF Brig.-Gen. and Haifa Base commander Tal Politis and senior Defense Ministry officials took possession of the Nahshon landing craft from American officials in a ceremony in the US, it was announced on Wednesday.
During the ceremony, which took place on Tuesday, the Israeli Navy finally received the first of two such vessels, which will give the IDF significant new tactical options in any potential future war with Hezbollah.
Landing craft are small-to-medium-size naval vessels that are primarily utilized to transport soldiers, equipment, vehicles, and supplies to conduct offensive amphibious operations from sea to land.
IDF is getting much-needed landing craft
For decades, the IDF has been without such modern landing craft for mounting large amphibious assaults, leaving its troops to either attack enemy positions on land, through being transported by air, or only in very small numbers by sea.
Now, the IDF will have another critical tool for surprising Hezbollah, if needed, by dropping in significant new forces behind enemy lines.
The new vessels and the second one which is expected later had been reported to be on the way already in May 2022, and it is unclear what delayed their delivery for so long, though new significant weapon systems often experience unpredictable delays.
According to the IDF, the landing craft will also give the military more logistical options to enable it to transport equipment and supplies between land and sea should standard delivery routes become compromised in the midst of a conflict.
Israel’s navy had older landing craft from 1948 until 1993 when the last older vessel was decommissioned without being replaced.
However, in recent years, the military has been reinvesting more in the navy to maintain its weapons blockades of Gaza, Hezbollah, and Iranian proxies in Syria as well as to defend Israel’s new natural gas fields at sea.
The vessel is 95 meters long, 20 meters wide, and weighs 2,500 tons.
It is generally run by dozens of naval combat sailors and commanded by an officer of the middle-level rank of major.
Israeli Navy chief Maj.-Gen. David Sa’ar Salama sent a letter to be read at the ceremony to praise the new acquisition.
Most of the Israeli navy is made up of missile boats, a small number of submarines, and a variety of smaller vessels