Recently, The Jerusalem Post interviewed two electronic warfare commanders on the Israeli Navy’s most advanced ship, the Saar 6, which is so new that some of the ships of that model have only become fully operational at the start of the current war.
Capt. “B” has served in the navy for over six years, including on his current Saar 6, The Independence, as well as on one prior Saar 6 ship and a Saar 5 ship.
Lt. “Y” has served on the current Saar 6 for around 18 months, having previously served on a Saar 4.5.
Y told the Post, “I started one week before October 7. I commend the detection, navigation, and communication systems for building the operational picture, including both offense, defense, and sailing. There are also tactical classified systems.”
Next, he said he is responsible “for everything which interconnects between the sea and land worlds.”
Further, he stated, “I am an electronic combat naval officer also dealing with joint operations between our ship and the air force as well as Israel’s gas rigs.”
Capt. “B” said he has “seen different rounds and stages of war.”
18 different electronic systems
“I am the deputy commander of the ship. I am in charge of all of the systems and their upkeep. There is one integration of all of the [almost 20] systems. This integration is part of the magic,” he said.
The Post has previously reported that Saar 6 combines a stunning 18 different electronic warfare systems, many of which do not exist on any other Israeli naval vessel.
Like Y, B said, “I make connections between the air force and the navy. We are another tool to provide pieces to the larger picture” of the threat picture for the IDF.
“We might deal with aerial threats or precision land-to-land or land-to-sea threats,” he said.
Moreover, B stated, “Y and I build a picture, and we can decipher the threats, then decide what items [are not threats] and can stay in the air [like birds] and what to shoot down.”
“Aerial threats are complex, and detected objects can get mixed up. We need to separate the wheat from the chaff: to conclude what is the true threat,” he continued.
Going on both the attack and playing defense, the Saar 6 “attacks all naval threats. We also use different elements of the naval iron dome for different threats,” B explained.
In addition, he noted, “There has been a major change. The involvement of the navy in attacks relating to ground invasions increased immeasurably. If before this change, some thought the navy needed to convince others ‘why am I relevant to you’, now it is clear that ‘we are relevant’.
Next, B said, “Now there can be one quick phone call from a battalion commander in Gaza [without having to go higher up the change of command in bureaucracy) and we can do it. This is great.”
One example was on October 16, 2023; the IDF revealed that attacks from the Oz and Magan Saar 6 ships struck Hamas infrastructure for assembling weapons as well as positions and lookout posts for the Hamas naval commandos. There have been many examples since then where the IDF has said the navy participated in attacks on Gaza terror land forces.
“And we have so many abilities. There are so many things we can do. With one call from us to the Air force, we can get them to strike a target at the same time as we are striking a target for the Gaza battalion commander. And all of this can occur as we continue sailing and maneuvering our position at sea,” Y added.
He explained, “Because of the war, the Saar 6 became operational much faster, whereas normally it would have taken years.”
Cyberwarfare
Moreover, B stated that the Saar 6’s many electronic capabilities are “not limited to communications. We also handle defending against missiles and carry out electronic warfare” – often considered a euphemism for jamming.
Questioned about the Saar 6’s special cyber systems, he responded, “Anything with data is also under my command.”
In October 2023, the Post reported that in addition to interception missile defense systems, the ships also have “16 anti-ship missiles, one 76mm Oto Melara Super Rapid main gun, two Typhoon 25mm remote weapon stations and two 324mm torpedo launchers for MK54 Lightweight Torpedoes. Each state-of-the-art ship will also be outfitted with cyber and electronic warfare systems.”
The Saar 6 uses the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR system, which is a multifunction solid-state Active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar developed for a new generation of naval platforms.
This radar system utilizes four active arrays operating in the S-band, with each of the four separate arrays positioned in one direction. Next, foreign reports said that the radar employs multi-beam and pulse Doppler techniques, as well as robust electronic counter-measures techniques, to extract low radar cross-section targets from complex clutter and jamming environments.
Further, foreign reports said that AESA radars provide a low probability of intercepting emitted signals and help the ships remain stealthy.
They also reduce the target-acquisition response time and provide an advanced ability to accurately and simultaneously track a wide range of targets.
“The combat and air defense systems installed on the Sa’ar corvettes represent the significant tier now being integrated on the rest of Israel’s air defense array, an integral aspect of IAI’s system-wide naval solutions,” Boaz Levy, President and CEO of IAI has said.
“Deploying the world’s most advanced radar system of its kind, based on decades of ELTA’s radar production know-how, is the cornerstone for a wide range of systems with the ability to act as a force multiplier for the navy, for the IDF and for the State of Israel,” he added.
Threats from Iran, Yemen
Next, the Post asked about how the Saar 6 managed to prioritize between varying threats from Iran and Yemen, including different quality threats when it comes to drones versus ballistic missiles. Over the course of the war, the IDF has noted many times that Israeli naval vessels have contributed to defense against all of these threats in a variety of ways.
B stated, “It doesn’t matter where a threat comes from. It could be from the East [like Iran and Yemen], the South [Gaza], the West [various adversaries if they loop around from the Mediterranean], the North {Hezbollah] – we address it with the same seriousness. We are loaded to go. We could detect a butterfly and just push it away [because it is not a threat]….or we could shoot something down…whatever is best for the State of Israel.”
Further, Y explained, “We have helped both around Gaza and Lebanon. Also, in the Red Sea. We also have tools for defending the skies. We also double the capabilities of the air force to guard the home front.”
The navy continues to defend all of the waters around Eilat, declared Y.
The IDF specifically announced the Saar 6’s presence in the Red Sea in December 2023 and has provided footage of its sailing there, but has not identified more specifics about its operations there.
Moreover, in April, the Saar 6’s C-dome version of Iron Dome was used to shoot down drones attacking Eilat.
The Saar 6 is outfitted with the Barak-8 MR-SAM system which is able to shoot down enemy aircraft at a range of 50-70 kilometers (32-43 miles). It is designed to defend naval vessels against a myriad of short- to long-range airborne threats, such as incoming missiles, planes and drones at both low or high altitudes.
Previously, Naval Squadron 32 Cdr. Steven Gordon confirmed to the Post that his naval vessels trained “to defend against drone attacks,” while noting that the Barak 8 defense system is only one of various defense options against drones.
The Sa’ar 6 also comes equipped with two Naval Dome missile interceptors for rockets (the maritime version of the land-based Iron Dome.
Previously in April 2023, the Post had reported on an instance in March 2021 in which the Saar 6 missile boat’s highly advanced radar systems were used successfully to help track an Iranian attack drone and to facilitate assigning a specific F-35 aircraft to shoot down the incoming drone.
Y said, “Every ship is important, but the Saar 6 has a series of special defensive capabilities. It can also accomplish other things, but that [the defensive capabilities] is its best X factor.”
“It includes many systems which are not part of other ships. It can also maneuver in a quieter and stealthy fashion,” he added, confirming foreign reports about certain stealth capabilities.
Moreover, Y said, “We can be spread out with logistics in many spots in the South and the North. We can sail to wherever we are needed, whether that is defending the natural gas rigs for the country’s electricity supply or helping with an invasion or with handling targets beyond Israel’s borders.”
B added, “It can attract attention and can be seen to project power in an area to show we are seriously guarding it.”
The ability of the Saar 6 to project power on defense also frees up other ships to go on the offensive.
For example, when Saar 5 ships attacked the Syrian navy in mid-December, Y said, “We let them do the offensive in Syria.”
Keeping up with so many electronic systems
B stated that despite being the electronics commander, he is not an expert in every system on the ship, “There are dozens [the IDF is not allowed to give exact numbers] of soldier tech experts. There is not one person who knows every system. Someone on the ship must be available to operate each system at all times, even if someone else is asleep.”
Regarding detecting and identifying threats, Y said, “We have a very strong staff. We look at threats both [physically] up close, and we look from a distance using radars. All together, we build out an operational picture, including targets to fire at or just to follow. The battle forces are the key. There is a challenge for operating forces: to find precise intelligence and targeting and to synchronize our moves [with land and air forces] to accomplish the various parallel missions.”
“B” added, “We have very new systems, but the best part is the staff – and they need to be the best to quickly use the radar to identify the target and clarify whether it is a threat or something that can be ignored [like birds].”
Likewise, Y noted that the Saar 6 encounters “Targets in the field, threats at sea, and threats which can surprise us. The staff needs to work hard to get to the right level.”
B volunteered, “Our staff has not just been training for empty reasons. The war proved how relevant the training has been.”
Germany's role
B said, “My family comes from Holocaust survivors, so it was an incredible experience to see the ships built in Germany…It was a profound experience to bring the ship up to operational status [on an accelerated basis] in the middle of the war. Not all wars had this high level of operational activity.”
“It was an experience having the Germans explain technical aspects of the ship, though all IDF ships get customized updates when they arrive in Israel,” he said.
The human side of electronic warfare
Y said, “The soldiers are like your kids and we are like their parents in a tiny space of 90 meters long by 30 meters wide. There is nowhere to run to. We need to accept each other and stay in good spirits. But everyone needs support sometimes.”
“All of this helps accomplish the mission, including preserving quiet for the Israeli home front,” he said.
B stated, “Besides dealing with operations, people get sick and have to do routine guard duty, but always need to maintain readiness.”
“There is a cooking rotation which gives some consolation after guard duty…We spend long hours together, including singing together and telling stories. We take a well-known song, but then we add our own improvised words and even have competitions about the best lyrics,” he noted.
B continued, “The staff is very high quality. Without them, it would not matter how good I am. The upkeep and training they do keeps the ship running. Yuval and I would be stuck in the water unable to do anything without the synergy and cohesion.”
Also, he said, “I don’t need to be a specific expert in each individual system. Non-commissioned officers under me are top level specific systems’ experts. I conduct the orchestra.”
“The winner is not the best violin instrument, but whoever knows when to use the violin and who can play it best,” concluded B.