Israeli Navy Decommissions Veteran Missile Boat INS Keshet After 44 Years
The Israeli Navy has decommissioned the veteran missile boat INS Keshet after 44 years of active service. Known as the submarine hunter, the vessel played a crucial role in defense operations during the Swords of Iron war.
After 44 years of service, the Israeli Navy's missile boat INS Keshet, widely known as the "submarine hunter," has officially been decommissioned following a final ceremonial voyage. Commissioned in May 1982 shortly before the First Lebanon War, the vessel began its career as a Sa'ar 4-class gunboat before undergoing a major two-year modernization in 1995 to become a Sa'ar 4.5 anti-submarine platform.
Throughout its decades of service, INS Keshet participated in numerous classified and public operations, earning a reputation as the ship with the highest concentration of weaponry per square meter in the world. In recent years, the vessel took an active part in the Swords of Iron war, intercepting unmanned aerial vehicles targeting strategic assets such as Israel's offshore natural gas rigs. Military officials noted that the retirement of the veteran warship is part of a strategic transition to newer platforms, with future roles to be assumed by the incoming Reshef-class corvettes currently under construction at Israel Shipyards.
As the ship returned to port for the final time, the crew gathered on deck for a traditional farewell ceremony, sounding the ship's horn and unfurling flags as fellow naval vessels paid their respects with water cannons and salutes. Major M., the commanding officer of the vessel, praised the dedication of the sailors who maintained the ship through generations of technological upgrades. A glass bottle containing a document signed by the crew was sealed and left aboard as a permanent memorial, marking the end of a remarkable chapter in the history of the Israeli Navy.
