The ceremony of handing over the "Ahi Nachshon" landing craft took place yesterday at the Pascagoula Shipyard in the United States, the first of two ships to be received in the Israeli navy.
The ceremony was presided over by the commander of the Haifa base, Brigadier General Tal Politis and senior members of the Ministry of Defense's procurement delegation.
A landing craft is a powerful warship, which enables sailing to distant arenas. Its length is about 95 meters and its width is about 20 meters, its weight exceeds 2500 tons. The landing team consists of dozens of fighters, with a quarter of them being female fighters. The commander of the vessel is a seaman with the rank of major.
The amphibious landings will be a central pillar in adapting the naval arm to the modern and multi-arena battlefield, among other things they will serve as a logistical hub for transporting equipment and moving fighters in near and far areas of action.
Also, the landings will enable the strengthening of the high-quality cooperation between the various units in the naval arm, the techno-logistic wing and the arms in the IDF, this for the benefit of strengthening and streamlining the joint operational activity, and the realization of the multi-sector combat effort in routine and emergency situations.
The joint construction project of the IDF and the Ministry of Defense of the Nachshon platforms began about 4 years ago, when they were purchased by the procurement delegation at the Ministry of Defense with the aid funds of the US government to Israel. The handover ceremony marks a significant milestone in the process of their absorption into the Navy from the US to the Israeli Navy.
Now the Nachshon Marine will begin the construction phase which includes crew training and operational certification tests - when in a few months it will sail and arrive at its home port in Israel. During the year 2024, the lander will be declared an operational vessel.