Combat Fleets

The first of six Israel Navy Super Dvora III-class fast patrol and interdiction craft recently entered service, commissioned on 11 November 2004 at the Israeli naval base in Ashdod. Israel Aircraft Industries’ Ramta Division is constructing six of the craft under a 15 January 2002 contract.

These aluminum-hulled vessels are an evolution of earlier craft in the Dvora/Dabur series but possess superior accommodations and increased speed. Capable of top speeds of nearly 50 knots, they likely will be armed with one 20-mm Rafael Typhoon Gatling gun, a 20-mm 90-caliber Oerlikon cannon, and one or more 40-mm Mk 19 grenade launchers. They normally will carry a crew of eight enlisted sailors and a single officer.

The vessels measure 27.4 meters in length with a beam of 5.74 meters. Their shallow draft enables operation in waters little more than one meter deep. The Super Dvora III class is powered by two Detroit Diesel MTU 12V-4000 series diesel engines.

The South Korean (ROK) Navy recently announced selection of the General Electric LM2500 gas turbine to power its next generation KDX-III destroyer. These new destroyers, expected to displace roughly 7,000 tons, each will be fitted with four of the LM2500 30,000 shaft horsepower (shp) gas turbines, producing a total propulsion output of 120,000 shp.

The ROK Navy expects to take delivery of the first KDX-III engines in June 2006. To date, GE has supplied more than 70 LM2500s to the ROK Navy, which uses the popular turbines to power, among other ships, the current KDX-I and KDX-II class destroyers.

Three KDX-III class destroyers were ordered in August 2004 and are expected to enter service in 2008, 2010, and 2012, respectively, though these dates may prove optimistic. The warships will be equipped with the Lockheed-Martin SPY-1-series Aegis principal radar/combat system and a combination of Raytheon Rolling Air Frame and Standard surface-to-air missiles, along with a five-inch gun.

Russia’s first Project 677, Lada-class diesel-powered submarine was launched on 28 October 2004 by Admiralteiskiye shipyard in Saint Petersburg. The boat, whose name is reported as Sankt Peterburg (also as Saint Petersburg), was designed by the Rubin Design Bureau and laid down in December 1997. The Lada class is said to be far quieter (eight to ten times quieter by some estimates) than the Project 877, Kilo class.

The Project 677 has been offered for export under the class name Amur. These export boats are available in versions ranging from 550 to 2,000 tons surfaced displacement, with lengths ranging from 48 to 68 meters, crew size between 18 and 37, and endurance at sea from 20 to 50 days.

Current plans call for this first submarine, reportedly numbered B-100, to be delivered in December 2005. The Lada class measures 67 meters in length, displaces 1,750 tons surfaced and 2,700 tons submerged, and has an endurance of 45 to 50 days. Armament options likely will include SS-N-27 (P-10 Biryuza) antiship cruise missiles, VA-111 Shkval rocket torpedoes, SET-80 torpedoes, and various types of mines. An air-independent propulsion system also has been proposed for the submarine, though there have been no reports indicating it will be carried.