Security
Submarine INS Dolphin Arrives in Israel After 12 Years Building and Journey of 8,000 Kilometers
INS 'Dolphin,' the sixth submarine of the Navy and the last in the Dolphin AIP series, arrives in Israel at the end of a journey of about a month from shipyards TKMS in Kiel, Germany. It is about 30 percent larger than older Dolphin submarines, over 70 meters long, and its propulsion system enables prolonged underwater residence without surfacing. Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir: 'A powerful strategic arm, which knows how to reach every target in the Middle East and beyond.'
· Source: Channel 14; photo as published
The Navy's new submarine INS 'Dolphin,' the sixth in the Israeli submarine array and the last in the Dolphin AIP series, arrives in Israel after more than 12 years of planning and building and a journey of about a month from Germany, being about 30 percent larger than older Dolphin submarines and equipped with a propulsion system enabling prolonged underwater stay.
According to the report, INS 'Dolphin' extends over 70 meters long, and when on the water only less than one-fifth of its size is visible. Its technological crown jewel is the AIP system, air-independent propulsion, based on oxygen and hydrogen to generate energy and charge batteries underwater, and enables prolonged operation in depth without surfacing.
The submarine left the TKMS shipyard in the city of Kiel in Germany, where the Israeli flag was hoisted over it earlier this month, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and continued through the Mediterranean, a journey of about 4,000 nautical miles, about 8,000 kilometers, that lasted about a month. Behind the project is joint activity that lasted over a decade led by a dedicated management body of the arm of the sea stationed in Germany for close to 20 years, which included officers, engineers and crews of fleet 7 alongside the Defense Ministry and the German Navy.
The Chief of Staff, Major General Eyal Zamir, said as the submarine made its way through the Mediterranean: 'It symbolizes more than anything else the transformation experienced by the Navy arm in becoming a powerful strategic arm, which knows how to reach every target in the Middle East and beyond.' According to him, absorption of the submarine is part of a broad move of strengthening that will in the future also include Reshef-class missile ships.
Absorption of INS 'Dolphin' completes the project of the second generation of the Dolphin AIP series, while in Germany work continues on the next generation, the 'Deckar' series, which will replace the older submarines in the array.
Source: Channel 14
