Israeli Navy takes possession of its first new US-built landing craft

The Israeli Navy on Tuesday received the first of two new landing crafts from a shipyard in the United States, though the vessel will only be delivered in the coming months.

During a ceremony at the Pascagoula shipyard in Mississippi, an Israeli flag was raised on the US-built INS Nahshon.

The Israel Defense Forces said the vessels, which weigh 2,500 tons each and are approximately 95 meters in length and 20 meters wide, will “act as a central pillar in adapting the Israeli Navy to the modern and multi-arena battlefield.”