Israel buys 2 German subs

By YAAKOV KATZ

Jerusalem Post

 

In the face of Iran's race to obtain nuclear power, Israel signed a contract with Germany last month to buy two Dolphin-class submarines that will, according to foreign reports, provide superior second-strike nuclear capabilities, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

 

The submarines will be assembled in Germany and provided with a propulsion system allowing them to remain underwater for far longer than the submarines currently in the Israel Navy's fleet.

 

According to sources close to the deal, the submarines will be operational in the near future.

 

The Post has also learned that the navy is considering installing a Fixed Underwater Sonar System (FUSS) off the coast to detect foreign submarines.

 

In 1993, Iran bought two Russian Kilo-class submarines and eight mini-submarines from North Korea, although officials said this was not the only reason the system was being considered. In 2005, Israel spotted a Western submarine snooping off its shore.

 

The contract signing was said to have come after a long dispute over the price and financing of the submarines. According to the details obtained by the Post, Israel will purchase the two Dolphins, manufactured by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG, for $1.27 billion, a third of which will be financed by the German government.

 

The navy already has three Dolphin-class submarines. They are the most expensive weapon platforms in the IDF's arsenal. Germany donated the first two submarines after the first Gulf War and split the cost of the third with Israel. The three submarines currently in the navy's possession employ a diesel-electric propulsion system, which requires them to resurface frequently to recharge their batteries.

 

The new submarines - called the U212 - will be fitted with a new German technology in which the propulsion system combines a conventional diesel lead-acid battery system and an air-independent propulsion system used for slow, silent cruising, with a fuel cell equipped with oxygen and hydrogen storage.

 

The submarines will also incorporate specifications gleaned from Israeli experience. The Dolphins currently in the navy's fleet were tailor-made for Israel's needs and reportedly have considerable operational capability. They are designed for a crew of 35 and can support 10 passengers. They have a maximum speed of 20 knots, a range of 4,500 kilometers and, according to Jane's Defense Weekly, the capability to launch cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads.

 

"With the new German technology," an official close to the deal said, "the new submarines will be able to remain submerged for much, much longer than the older Dolphin models."

 

News of the impending deal first emerged in November after Der Spiegel reported that chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's outgoing government had agreed to sell Israel two submarines at a heavily discounted price.

 

Prior to then, the German government had repeatedly turned down the request, supposedly because of reports the navy had outfitted the older submarines with Israeli-made, sea-launched cruise missiles.

 

Sensitive armament sales need approval from Berlin's Security Council. Several months ago, however, the German government, now headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, approved the deal after, sources told the Post, no significant public opposition was voiced.

 

Closure of the deal followed on the heels of a warming in German-Israel ties. In 2005, the countries agreed for the first time to hold joint ground maneuvers. In June, the INS Eilat missile ship participated for the first time in a NATO exercise in the Black Sea, together with German Navy.

Confirmed.

 

From DefenceTalk.com

 

Naval Forces

Israel Buys Upgraded Subs To Counter Iran Threat

By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

 

URL of this article:

http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publish/index.php

Thu, 24 Aug 2006, 00:37

 

Jerusalem: In a bid to boost its military arsenal against a perceived threat from archfoe Iran, Israel has signed a contract with Germany to buy two submarines capable of carrying nuclear weapons, a newspaper report said Wednesday.

 

Under the contract signed in July, the two Dolphin-class submarines, called U212s, will be assembled in Germany and fitted with a propulsion system allowing them to remain underwater for far longer than submarines already in use by the Israel navy, the Jerusalem Post said.

 

The state-of-the-art submarines, manufactured by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG, will be bought by Israel for 1.27 billion dollars, a third of which will be financed by the German government, the English-language daily said.

 

The U212s are designed for a crew of 35, have a range of 4,500 kilometers (2,810 miles) and can launch cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads, the paper quoted the Jane's Defense Weekly as saying.

 

Israel's defense ministry said it was unable either to confirm or deny the report.

 

The navy already has three German submarines -- the most expensive weapon platforms in Israel's arsenal that are also thought to be able to carry nuclear weapons.

 

Israel has never acknowledged possessing a nuclear arsenal although it is widely believed to have one.

 

Germany donated the first two submarines after the 1991 Gulf War and split the cost of the third with the Jewish state.

 

The Jerusalem Post also said the navy was considering installing an underwater sonar system off the coast to detect foreign submarines.

 

In November 2004, Israel spotted a mystery submarine in its territorial waters, which a naval official said was a foreign vessel on a spying mission.

 

The report of the sub purchase came a day after a cabinet minister and former Mossad spy warned Israel should prepare for a ballistic missile attack by Iran, its arch enemy and one of chief supporters of Hezbollah, against whom Israel waged the month-long war in Lebanon.

 

"Iran has threatened to attack us with its ballistic missiles and we should prepare behind our lines and civilians for such an attack," said Pensioner Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, who is a member of Israel's security cabinet.

 

A senior cleric in the Islamic republic -- facing a showdown with the West over its nuclear programme -- has warned that if Iran is attacked by the United States and Israel, it will retaliate with ballistic missiles aimed at Tel Aviv.

 

Israeli officials have accused Iran of orchestrating Hezbollah's cross-border raid on July 12 that sparked the Lebanon war in order to draw the world's attention from Tehran's nuclear program.

 

They now fear that Israel's failure to destroy the guerrilla Shiite militant group during the war -- widely celebrated across much of the Middle East as a resounding defeat for the Jewish state -- will further boost the confidence of Iran, whose leaders have called for Israel to be destroyed.

 

"The strategy of applying pressure to Israel and the West through their Lebanese satellite Hezbollah, as a counterweight to the threats against them, achieved great success over the past month from their perspective," wrote Maariv, the nation's second-largest daily.

 

"Therefore they have no reason to fold now," it said.

 

© AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE