Euronaval 2024 – Israel Shipyards unveils the latest member of its Shaldag family, the Mini Shaldag

At Euronaval 2024 the novelty in the Israel Shipyard stand was the smallest one, the company part of the SK Group having shown for the first time its Mini Shaldag, aimed at military and paramilitary units operating in coastal waters and in riverine scenarios

The Haifa-based shipyard has just delivered the hull of the eighth Shaldag Mk V to the Philippines, the ship being now fitted out in the Cavite Naval Base by Israeli and national personnel, as established in the Transfer of Technology agreement which saw the Philippine Navy acquiring nine such 95 tonnes ships.

While delivering the biggest of the Shaldag family, Israel Shipyards naval engineers were busy designing the smallest one, which was first shown at the Paris exhibition. “We already worked on riverine programmes in the past, the Argentina Coast Guard operating four Shaldag Mk II along the Panama river,” Oded Breier, Israel Shipyards Vice-President Marketing told EDR On-Line. “The demand for boats capable to operate in riverine and shallow waters scenarios is increasing, therefore we decided to design a solution aimed at navies, coast guards and armies. Considering the type of customer and use, we made our best to develop a ship that is easy to operate and maintain, requires limited manpower, and is highly cost-effective,” he added.

The ship mass was another issue, as these assets might need to be redeployed by road, which puts some constraints considering the route network in many countries in Africa and Latin America. The result of the project is for the moment at full design stage, the shipyard awaiting a first contract before starting to build the first-of-class, the company being pretty confident this will go smoothly considering the long experience acquired on the Shaldag family.

The Mini Shaldag is 19.85 metres long with a maximum beam of 4.94 metres and a draft at full displacement of 1.05 metres. The hull is built in aluminium, standard load displacement being 37.5 tonnes. It is powered by two MAN 12V-1650 diesel engines providing 1,213 kW each, which allow for a maximum speed of over 45 knots, the 5,200 kg fuel ensuring a range of over 350 NM.

The crew is made of three-four personnel, a single cabin with four bunks providing accommodation during long endurance missions. Depending on the mission the Mini Shaldag can be equipped with less-than-lethal or lethal weapons, the model seen at Euronaval being fitted with a Rafael remotely controlled weapon station. According to the company, Spike ER missiles can also be installed, a rendering showing a four-missile weapon station installed at the rear.

The fitting is of course dictated by the mission, Israel Shipyards proposing its new light fast patrol ship for interception, reconnaissance, law enforcement, littoral operations and search and rescue. The latest version of the design shows amidship, port and starboard, a stair allowing easy transfer of personnel on other boats, usually RHIBs. The Mini Shaldag is conceived to transport up to 20 more personnel, i.e. evacuees, and is therefore fitted with sufficient fresh water, a 600 litres tank is installed, food supplies and toilets, these personnel being hosted in the wheelhouse and below deck.

At Euronaval Israel Shipyards showed a concept of use based on a three-vessel unit, with one Mini Shaldag and two RHIBs; the main ship was operating ahead of the team, its crew being protected by the superstructure, which is armoured at Level 1, the vessel also featuring a considerable firepower, while the RHIB crews would operate as assault teams, the Mini Shaldag also acting as command ship.

EDR On-Line understood that Israel Shipyards is already talking to a potential customer in the Latin America area.

Images courtesy Israel Shipyards, photo by P. Valpolini