Four new navy ships built in Germany will protect gas rigs extracting natural gas from the massive Leviathan deposit in the Mediterranean sea off of Israel's north coast. The ships will be outfitted with the Iron Dome missile defense system.
Commander of naval forces Eliyahu Sharvit reacted to the delivery of the first of the Sa'ar 6-class corvette ships as follows:
"Defense of our financial assets at sea is critical. These naval ships are the perfect answer to the need for this defense."