Israel is rebuilding a 35-year-old missile ship into an Iron Dome-equipped naval shield

The Israeli Navy is undertaking an extensive, NIS 250 million ($82M) project to rebuild the 35-year-old INS Lahav, a Saar 5-class missile ship, to enhance its operational capabilities and extend its service life by at least 15 years. This unusual upgrade, expected to be completed within five months, is driven by the urgent need to bolster naval defenses following the October 7 war and increased threats to Israel's offshore natural gas platforms and maritime infrastructure from Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon. The Lahav is being equipped with a naval version of Rafael’s Iron Dome air defense system, an advanced Elta radar, and upgraded computing, navigation, sonar, and communications systems, bringing it close to the level of the newer Saar 6-class ships. Lt. Col. Roy, who heads the project, stated, “About a month after the war began, we started looking for ways to increase the air defense capabilities of Navy ships through relatively short and inexpensive processes.” The success of this project may lead to similar upgrades for its sister ships, INS Hanit and INS Eilat, as the Navy seeks faster solutions than acquiring new vessels, which can take 8-10 years and cost over NIS 800 million ($262M) per ship.