Earlier this week a ceremony took place in the German port of Kiel, in which the Israeli Navy named its sixth and biggest submarine as the INS Drakon. The ceremony was attended by Israel Navy Commander David Saar Salama, Ministry of Defense deputy director general and Head of the Directorate of Production and Procurement Zeev Landau and Israel's Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor. The submarine is due to be delivered by Thyssenkrupp to Israel in 2025.
High cost
The INS Drakon is the biggest submarine built in Germany since the end of the Second World War. The submarine costs €500 million ($586 million) with one third of the cost financed by the German government. For the sake of comparison the INS Tanin, which was procured by Israel a decade ago cost €400 million and all four Saar 6 warships together cost €450 million.
In 2018, the Israeli Navy decided to halt the INS Drakon project, which was almost ready, and implement a strategic change with improvements including replacing components. The major change extended the time to delivery and added costs. The design and planning phase of each submarine lasts about three years, while the construction takes about seven years. Among other things, unlike Israel's previous three submarines, the INS Drakon has an AIP system, which allows batteries to be charged even underwater, thus enabling a longer diving time.
Is it a nuclear submarine?
The INS Drakon, like the INS Tanin and INS Rahav has ten torpedo tubes (six with a diameter of 533 millimeters and four with a diameter of 650 millimeters). According to foreign reports, the submarine can carry Popeye nuclear cruise missiles produced by Rafael. The submarine can also carry German-made 4A2DM missiles and US-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles. A significant advantage of the INS Drakon compared with its counterparts, according to foreign reports, is its VLS capability: an advanced launch system for launching missiles from vessels. However, the submarine itself is not nuclear powered, because ThyssenKrupp only produces conventionally powered submarines.
The length of the submarine is estimated in international media at more than 70 meters, which allows not only a bigger crew but also carrying more weapons and ammunition. Its weight exceeds the 2,000-tons, making it the most powerful submarine in the Middle East. According to a report by German newspaper "Der Spiegel", about Israeli submarines that are already active, such as Tanin and Rahab, the vessels can remain beneath the surface of the water for 18 days and reach a speed of 25 knots (46.3 kilometers per hour).
Throughout the entire development of the INS Drakon dozens of Israel Navy engineers worked alongside ThyssenKrupp's staff. This teamwork has extended over 30 years, in which Israel Has become Thyssenkrupp's second biggest customer after Germany itself.
The life-cycle of a submarine is about 30 years, mainly due to the effects of the loads when descending into the water on the "pressure body", the inner shell of the submarine. As a result is will be phasing out the INS Dolphin, INS Leviathan and INS Takuma submarines, which reached in Haifa in 1999-2000. To this end, in 2022, Israel procured from ThyssenKrupp three submarines of the Dakar series for €3 billion, which are expected to be delivered from 2031. Unlike the INS Rahab, INS Tanin and INS Dragon submarines, Germany is expected to finance "only" 20% of the cost.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 14, 2024.
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