Germany delivers INS Drakon submarine to Israel
The 68-metre vessel with six torpedo tubes left Kiel on 1 September and is sailing to Haifa.
Germany has sent another submarine to Israel: the INS Drakon, a Dolphin 2-class boat built by TKMS. The vessel, which left the Kiel shipyard on Tuesday (1 September), passed through the Kiel Canal and is now en route to Israel's northern port of Haifa.
Technical details and delivery
The new submarine is 68 metres long and equipped with six torpedo tubes. It is the sixth and final boat of the series that the German firm TKMS produced for the Israeli navy.
Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor said the launch from Kiel coincided with the German navy’s first test of the Israeli missile "LORA." "This is not a coincidence, but the result of close strategic cooperation and a partnership that has grown over the years. As equal partners, we stand shoulder to shoulder and face common challenges," he said to the German news agency DPA.
The delivery is part of a long-standing German–Israeli military cooperation programme. Supporters describe the exports as a key component of that partnership, while critics say the submarines could be adapted to carry nuclear weapons and have voiced broader objections tied to Israeli military operations in Gaza.
According to TKMS, the submarine departed Kiel on 1 September and is heading to Haifa. Ambassador Prosor attended the departure ceremony in Kiel accompanied by the German navy’s Chief Inspector Jan Christian Kaak.
Photo: idfonline/X
