Dolphin-class Submarine

The ''Dolphin'' class (Hebrew: הצוללות מסדרת דולפין) is a diesel-electric submarine developed in Israel and constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) in Kiel, Germany, for the Israeli Navy. The first boats of the class were based on the export-only German 209-class submarines, but modified and enlarged. The ''Dolphin'' 1 sub-class is slightly larger than the German Navy Type 212 in length and displacement. The three newer air-independent propulsion (AIP) equipped boats are similar to the Type 212 vessels in underwater endurance, but are longer, nearly 500 tonnes heavier in submerged displacement and have a larger crew than either the Type 212 or the Type 214.

The ''Dolphin 2'' class are the largest submarines to have been built in Germany since World War II. The ''Dolphin''-class boats are the most expensive single vehicles in the Israel Defense Forces. The ''Dolphin'' class replaced the aging , which had served in the Israeli navy since the late 1970s. Each ''Dolphin''-class submarine is capable of carrying a combined total of up to 16 torpedoes and Popeye Turbo submarine-launched cruise missiles ( SLCMs). The cruise missiles have a range of at least and are widely believed to be equipped with a 200 kiloton nuclear warhead containing up to of plutonium. The latter, if true, would provide Israel with an offshore nuclear second strike capability.

The first batch of the class – the three ''Dolphin''-I submarines – are set to be replaced by the newer ''Dakar''-class submarines from 2031 onwards.

History

First budgeted in July 1989 and ordered in January 1990, by November the order for the submarines was cancelled. This was due to budget reallocation aimed at countering Iraqi threats made against Israel following the Iraqi invasion and annexation of neighboring Kuwait during the leadup to the 1991 Gulf War. Funding for the first two boats (''Dolphin'' and ''Leviathan'') was fully subsidized by the German government to restart the construction program and the third (''Tekumah'') received a 50% subsidy. During the first Gulf War, it was revealed that German firms had assisted Iraq with modernizing its ballistic missile and chemical weapon programs, thanks in part to lax enforcement by German customs, in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime protocols which West Germany had acceded to in 1987. These enhanced missiles brought Israeli cities into Iraqi targeting range for the first time, and the Iraqi weapons research program included factories and necessary supplies for the creation of weaponized mustard and nerve gas. Though not a belligerent in the Gulf War, Israeli cities were nevertheless bombarded by these upgraded Iraqi missiles. To compensate Israel for war-related damage and economic losses and keep German shipyards occupied with a high profile project in the post Cold War defense spending downturn, then Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl approved an assistance package to German industry including the construction of two ''Dolphin''-class submarines.

The names ''Dolphin'' and ''Leviathan'' hail from the retired Israeli WWII-era submarines of the British T class; the third boat ''Tekuma'' (translation: Revival) commemorates , the third Israeli boat of the T class which was lost in 1968 with all Israeli crew in the Mediterranean Sea during delivery. The names of the newer boats and are taken from retired s, which were themselves named after even older Israeli S-class submarines.

Additional procurement

In 2006 Israel signed a contract with ThyssenKrupp to purchase two additional submarines from its HDW subsidiary. The two new boats are an upgraded version displacing 28% heavier than the older ''Dolphin''s, featuring an air-independent propulsion system, similar to the one used on German Type 212 submarines. On 6 July 2006, the Government of Germany decided to finance an advance to start the construction, about €170 million, planned for delivery in 2012. The two submarines cost, overall, around €1.3 billion, of up to one-third was subsidized by Germany. In 2010, both Israel and Germany denied having talks regarding the potential purchase of a sixth submarine. Yet in 2011, Israel ordered a sixth ''Dolphin''-class submarine, for which it was reported to pay the unsubsidized cost of US$1 billion. However, in July 2011, during a meeting between German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense minister Ehud Barak, an agreement was reached to subsidize €135 million of the US$500–700 million cost of the sixth submarine.

In 2016, it was revealed that a new sonar developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems had begun to be fitted on all ''Dolphin'' submarines in the last two years. The new capabilities provided to the ''Dolphin'' submarines by the Israeli sonar also include detection of vessels with a low noise signature. The algorithms used in the sonar systems enable it to ignore many of the noises that can disrupt the range of the systems' activity, while detecting very distant noises.

In late 2016 reports emerged of negotiations for the purchase of three additional ThyssenKrupp built submarines. The former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who opposed the acquisition during his tenure, called for the Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to investigate the negotiations which included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's personal attorney David Shimron for work while on retainer to the offices of Miki Ganor which represents ThyssenKrupp in Israel. As of 23 November 2016 A.G. Mandelblit has decided to ask the state prosecutor to move forward with an investigation into the case. In July 2021 with the newly formed government in power and the Netenyahu lead government out of power MK Gantz the new Defense Minister as well as MK Sa'ar began an official process into initiating a state investigation into the case 3000 submarine procurement case saying "An official inquiry committee that will investigate all aspects of the affair is the need of the hour". However, the government's submarine procurement investigation has been delayed as the ThyssenKrupp negotiations for the purchase of new submarines with additional capabilities is ongoing and likely to cost €2.4B.

In October 2017, Israel and Germany confirmed that they finalised a memorandum of understanding covering the Israeli Navy's purchase of three more ''Dolphin''-class submarines to be delivered starting in 2027. The deal was formally signed in January 2022 with the then envisaged delivery of the first boat occurring within nine years. These boats will replace the first three of the class which by then will be about 30 years old. Germany will provide industrial subsidies to German companies building and outfitting the submarines covering a third of purchase costs.

Armament and systems

Each submarine is fitted with 6 × torpedo tubes, and 4 × torpedo tubes. The very large 650 mm tubes can be used for laying mines, larger submarine-launched cruise missiles, or swimmer delivery vehicles, and with liners the tubes could be used for standard torpedoes and submarine-launched missiles. The boats were first armed with Atlas Elektronik DM2A3 torpedoes using wire-guided active homing to deliver a warhead at a maximum speed of to a target over away, in passive homing mode a speed of and a range up to is possible. Israel has also procured the more advanced DM2A4 torpedo, successor to their DM2A3s, which are electrically propelled, equipped with fiber optic communications and has countermeasure resistant signals processing and mission logic. A wet and dry compartment is installed for deploying underwater special operations teams.

''Jane's Defence Weekly'' reports that the ''Dolphin''-class submarines are believed to be nuclear armed, offering Israel a sea-based, second strike capability. In adherence to Missile Technology Control Regime rules the US Clinton administration rejected an Israeli request in 2000 to purchase Tomahawk long range SLCMs. The U.S. Navy has deployed nuclear armed and conventional Tomahawk missiles for its submarine fleet which are launched from standard heavy 533 mm torpedo tubes. The Federation of American Scientists and GlobalSecurity.org report that the four larger torpedo tubes are capable of launching Israeli built nuclear-armed Popeye Turbo cruise missiles (a variant of the Popeye

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