The government has finalized the procurement of two landing craft for the Israeli Navy and the IDF, Israel Hayom learned Sunday. The American-made vessels are expected to reach Israel in the next few months.
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Landing craft are small-to-medium naval vessels used primarily to transport and tactically deploy soldiers, equipment, vehicles, and supplies from ship to shore for the conduct of offensive military operations.
The landing craft will be embedded with a new squadron formed by the INF at the Ashdod Naval Base. Once they arrive, the IDF will install various proprietary systems on the vessels to adapt them to the Israeli military's needs, a process that is expected to take several months.
According to the IDF, the landing craft aim to provide fighting forces with a logistical boost, and will allow the military to transport equipment and supplies to troops at sea should regular delivery routes become compromised.
From an operational standpoint, they also expand the IDF's fighting tactics as they can be used for surprise raids deep inside enemy territory. A defense source told Israel Hayom that landing craft could be used in case of fighting against Hezbollah – the Lebanon-based terrorist group that is also Iran's largest proxy in the Middle East.
Another defense official said the absence of the landing craft "has been noticed" in the current "Chariots of Fire" war games. To complete the naval raid drill included in the exercise, for which Israel troops will travel to Cyprus to simulate fighting in unknown terrain, the INF leased landing craft from Greece and Turkey.
The INF had a fleet of landing craft from its inception in 1948 until 1993, when the last vessels were decommissioned.
"As part of the month-long exercise, the IDF will use Greek platforms and Italian vessels to practice transporting logistics equipment and fighters taking part in the drill, in which INF corvettes will take part," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement.
"As part of the work plan for 2023, two Logistic Support Vessel will be integrated into the naval and military forces."
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