In terms of armament, Kidon carries a 76mm OTO-Melara turreted naval gun and this is backed by 8 x RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles and 16 x Barak 1 surface-to-air missiles allowing the ship to tackle both seaborne and airborne threats within range. For close-in defense there is a 20mm Phalanx system (at the forecastle), 2 x 12.7mm Browning heavy machine guns and up to 3 x 7.62mm FN MAG 58 series medium machine guns.
Her profile is such that the main gun armament is seated over stern (and not the bow as is traditionally seen) with the Phalanx unit set over the bow. The bridge is well ahead of midships and the semi-enclosed mast is directly aft of this structure. Most of the structural mass is forward of midships with the rest of the deck surface taken up by various smaller structures including the missile launchers.
Providing speed, agility and good on-call firepower, the INS Kidon becomes a true multirole asset to the Israeli Navy in the volatile waters of the Mediterranean.
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