Short on funds for new warships, Israel spends $73 million to rebuild Cold War-era vessel

Facing funding constraints and urgent threats, the Israeli Navy is investing approximately $73 million to rebuild the 35-year-old INS Lahav, a Sa’ar 5-class missile ship, extending its operational life by at least 15 years. This overhaul, expected to be completed in five months, aims to rapidly enhance the Navy's air-defense capabilities, particularly after the October 7, 2023, war highlighted increased threats to Israel's offshore energy infrastructure and maritime routes from groups like the Houthis.

“These are not standard operations,” said Lt. Col. Roy, who heads the special directorate established to oversee the overhaul. “Normally, when we want to improve performance, there are organized processes for planning and procuring new ships with built-in capabilities adapted to our operational needs. But those processes take between eight and 10 years, and a single ship costs more than 800 million shekels. In this case, we needed a much faster solution.”

The upgrade includes Rafael’s naval Iron Dome system, advanced radar, and new computing, navigation, sonar, and communications systems, primarily to defend against missile and drone attacks. While not fully equivalent to the newer Sa’ar 6 corvettes, the project leverages lessons from integrating those vessels and may lead to similar overhauls for INS Lahav’s sister ships, INS Hanit and INS Eilat.