Israel's Doomsday Submarines Nearly Ready
The Israeli navy is a bit of an odd duck. It’s designed largely for coastal and eastern Mediterranean warfare. But among all of Israel’s small corvettes and missile boats are some some seriously mighty submarines.
Israel is also investing heavily in growing its submarine fleet. It’s a reflection of Tel Aviv’s increasing reliance on the underwater boats for a range of operations — including nuclear deterrence.
Right now, three
Dolphin II-class submarines are under construction at Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems shipyards in Kiel. Once the submarines complete their trials and head towards the Mediterranean, they will become the most powerful Israeli submarines
ever.
More than 225 feet long, the diesel-electric
Dolphin II class is part attack submarine, part nuclear strike ship and part commando taxi.
They’re also painted in an unusual combination of black, blue and green colors. That’s “meant to make the ship less visible, and thought to be especially effective in Mediterranean waters,”
Defense News noted after recently publishing
new photographs of the fat, oddly-shaped boats in dry dock and on sea trials.
In terms of weapons, the three boats of the
Dolphin II class—the
Tannin,
Rahav and a third unnamed submarine—contain 10 torpedo tubes capable of launching fiber optic cable-guided DM-2A4 torpedoes. Germany has already
handed over the
Tannin, which is preparing for its journey to Israel.
Four of these tubes are larger 26-inch tubes—the size is rare for a Western-built submarine—capable of launching small commando teams or firing larger cruise missiles. The remaining six tubes measure at 21 inches.
Although not admitted by the Israeli government, the
Dolphin II is widely believed to soon possess nuclear-tipped Popeye Turbo cruise missiles. The submarine’s armament includes non-nuclear anti-ship Harpoon and anti-helicopter Triton missiles.
In 2012, German news magazine
Der Spiegel interviewed several German defense ministry officials, all of whom were under the assumption that Israel intends for these submarines to
carry nuclear weapons. The missiles can also be launched “using a previously secret hydraulic ejection system,” the magazine reported.
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Israel's Doomsday Submarines Nearly Ready - RealClearDefense
Israel is the most dangerous nuclear nation on the planet.
