The Israeli naval command had reached the conclusion by the early 1960s that their old Second World War-era destroyers, frigates and corvettes were obsolete and new ships and vessels were needed.

[3] Yitzhak Shoshan, later to command the destroyer INS Eilat at the time of her sinking, surveyed the available torpedo boat designs and recommended the German Jaguar class.

[4] The Israeli Navy asked Lürssen, the shipyard which built the Jaguar class, to modify the wooden Jaguar-class design by switching to steel construction, adding 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) to the length, and revising the internal compartmentalization.

[5] Due to Arab League pressure on the German government, this plan was not continued and a new builder was sought.

The first was at the Battle of Latakia where the Israeli Navy defeated many Syrian boats and coastal targets using Otobreda 76 mm guns and missiles.