DEFENSE DAILY INTERNATIONAL
September 17, 2004
Super Dvora Mk 3 Adds Mission Modularity, Keeps Speed And Endurance
By B.C. Kessner
TEL AVIV, Israel--When the Israeli navy takes official delivery of Israel Aircraft Industries' (IAI) first new Super Dvora Mark 3, it will have a mission- reconfigurable fast patrol craft with more power, endurance and maneuverability than anything in its current fleet, and IAI official told Defense Daily International recently.
"The Israel navy wanted something with the flexibility to modify overnight for specific missions while maintaining ndurance and speed," Chanan Ben-Dov, director of marketing and business development for IAI's Ramta division, said here last week. "The Mark 3 has more power, more propulsion and more maneuverability."
After a worldwide search, the Israeli navy awarded IAI-Ramta a contract in June 2002 for six Super Dvora Mark 3s, and the company holds an option for up to five more of the craft, Ben-Dov said.
The first Mark 3 from the Super Dvora family of fast patrol, interdiction and attack craft was physically delivered in late July to the Israeli navy and it began sea trials early last month, Ben-Dov said. He referred to the current activity as "joint sea trials" because company technicians and ngineers are cruising alongside Israeli navy personnel until the boat is officially handed over.
The Israeli navy has not set a date for the commissioning ceremony, but it could happen as soon as the end of the month, he said.
Systems and performance checks have been conducted at sea almost daily, Ben-Dov said. Additionally, the Israeli navy started training crews on the new craft right away.
"Flawlessly" was Ben-Dov's assessment of how the craft had been performing during the joint sea trials.
The Mark 3 has an Articulating, or Arneson Surface Drive (ASD) adapted from competitive speed boat technology by IAI-Ramta in conjunction with Racine, Wis.-based Twin Disc, Ben-Dov said. "The [Israeli navy] loves the ASD, as you can tell by this and its decision to retrofit [some of the earlier patrol boat class] Daburs."
The propellers of the ASD Mark 3 actually ride half out of the water, breaking cavitation, which allows for greater boost speeds and decreases pitting and corrosion on the blades, he said. ASD also gives the Mark 3 "thrust-vector control," whereby the linked shafts move behind the transom, eliminating the need for a rudder, he added.
A disadvantage of the ASD is that it produces a 'rooster tail' behind the craft, which could be a visible signal to the boat's approach. But the plume also has a cooling effect on the craft's thermal signature, Ben-Dov said. For customers preferring a different type of propulsion system, IAI-Ramta is also offering a water jet propulsion system, he added.
The 28-meter Mark 3 is about two meters longer than the Super Dvora Mark 2, depending on the displacement and where one measures, Ben-Dov said. The Mark 3s displace anywhere between 56-72 tons, as compared to the 46 to 56-ton displacement of the Mark 2s.
The increased length and corresponding displacement was done to accommodate the Israeli navy's need for increased payload capability, more endurance and range and better human engineering, Ben-Dov said.
Standard weapons include Rafael's Typhoon, a stabilized 25mm or 30mm bow-mounted cannon that is slaved to a mast-mounted electro-optic system, a 20mm manually operated cannon astern and .50 caliber or 7.62mm machine guns on both sides of the external bridge, Ben-Dov said. "There are also other systems that we cannot discuss," he added.
While the Israel navy's choice of additional combat payloads remains shrouded, the company has exported about 80 previous-version Super Dvoras to about a dozen countries worldwide, including India, Sri Lanka and Slovenia. Weapons options for multi-mission craft of this type have been documented and include 40mm grenade launchers, precision surface-to-surface or surface-to-air missiles, depth charges, torpedoes, multiple-rocket launchers and others.
The Mark 3 can sustain speeds between 43-48 knots at full displacement--about the same as the smaller previous model, Ben-Dov said. The Israeli navy has backed down a bit from emphasizing certain top speed figures, he said. This is mainly because of the beating that crewmen of fast patrol boats were suffering at high speeds, he added. The stabilized cannon's ability to put first shots on target also lessens the need to outrun and overtake all non-compliant watercraft.
But the Israeli navy is not looking to send rounds into every potential target, Ben-Dov said. Since the Israeli navy has littoral/brown water and coast guard/police missions as well as expanding blue water requirements, the Mark 3 had to be designed for maximum mission flexibility. "This means that we can outfit for a certain mission to be carried out one day, and within a short time, outfit it for a totally different mission, in a matter of hours."
During performance checks, including 'interception turning' where the boat turns 180 degrees at full speed to chase down astern targets, the Mark 3 demonstrated turns at less than three boat lengths, under 70 meters at full speed, Ben-Dov said.
Endurance has been successfully measured in hours and nautical miles sailed but the exact details are not releasable, he said. Typical Israeli navy Super Dvora missions can last a few days and the Mark 3 is fully capable of at-sea replenishment, he added. The range is believed to be more than 1,000 nautical miles, or 96-plus hours at economic speeds.
Other tests of fuel and circulating systems, communication, navigation, weapons and sensor systems are checking out well, he said. Specifically, the two new generation MTU-12V-4000 engines, their interface and computerized controls are performing extremely well, he added. The craft can be controlled from an external upper bridge and the engine room in addition to the enclosed command bridge.
The Mark 3 can carry the four-plus-meter combat rubber raiding craft used by the Israeli navy's sea commandos, and deploy or recover the small boats from the sides of the Super Dvora, Ben-Dov said. The Mark 3 is capable of very shallow water operations, in to about 1.2 meters of water, he added.
It can be operated by as few as three crewmen, but has climate-controlled berthing spaces for up to about 10, depending on configuration, mission and rotation. Other passengers--including personnel rescued from a maritime incident, or detainees--can be accommodated below deck for a period, he said.
IAI is currently negotiating several new contracts for Super Dvora-line craft expected to generate additional sales in 2004-05. Because of systems such as the ASD, Israel must get export license approval from the United States for Super Dvoras.
The second Mark 3 is well into production at the company's facilities in southern Israel and will be delivered in the coming months to the IN, Ben-Dov said.