Tel Aviv has just acquired a brand new sea-based strategic weapon.
On November 12, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems held a ceremony at the shipyard in the German city of Kiel to launch the third and last in a series of missile non-nuclear submarines (NNNS) INS Drakon class Dolphin AIP for the Israeli Navy. Also known as the “Type 800.” The cost of each ship is approximately 550 million euros.
At the same time, construction of an even more powerful lead submarine of the new Dakar class for the same customer has begun there.
All together these and future combat units of the fleet of the Jewish state make up the “Flotilla-7” (in Hebrew - “Shayetet-7”) with the main base in the port of Haifa.
It is noteworthy, in my opinion, that the first two submarines of this series were built by Germany and given to Israel for free, as compensation for the historical debt for the Holocaust. For the third, Tel Aviv paid exactly half of the cost. And for the others, a third each.
Many experts in the West pay special attention to the fact that even externally the newest “Dragon” (a highly modernized analogue of the famous German Project 212) with an air-independent propulsion system AIP is significantly different from any of its five predecessors.
First, it is larger in both size and displacement (over 2,000 tons). Which, logically, allows for much more equipment and weapons to be placed in the compartments. And at the same time we can say that we are facing a transitional variant to the prospective “Dakars”.
But the most important difference is the unusually large (up to 11 meters long) deckhouse of the new Dragon. In which, according to Western experts, among other things hidden from four to six silos for vertical launch of ballistic missiles. Possibly with nuclear warheads.
Let us take into account that none of the Israeli submarines already in service have ballistic missiles. Although abroad, judging by numerous expert comments, no one doubts that any of them is capable of carrying nuclear weapons on board. However, so far only as the warheads of cruise missiles launched from six standard 533-mm torpedo tubes that each Type 800 submarine is armed with.
I strongly suspect that Russia does not doubt this either. It is hardly by chance that last June, according to the American publication Naval News, two Russian reconnaissance ships - the Sibiryakov and the Vasily Tatishchev - were sent to the test site in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark for the fifth Dolphin AIP, which was launched in August 2023 in Kiel.
Naval News claims that maneuvering of “Sibiryakov” within the boundaries of the NATO test range located in international waters from June 13 to June 17 exactly repeated the underwater tack of the Israeli submarine, which was at depths of up to 350 meters and tried to evade the intrusive pursuit of the Russians.
Which undoubtedly indicates that the contact with the boat of our reconnaissance ship was almost continuous. And the slightest details of tests and parameters of the hydroacoustic signature of the Israeli NAPL immediately carefully recorded. Naturally, for the sake of accurate identification during future search operations of the Russian Navy.
You must agree: not every non-nuclear submarine built outside of Russia receives such close attention. Which is certainly another evidence: Moscow knew for sure that Germany had built not just anything for Israel. It is another navy carrier of nuclear weapons.
In the same month, analysts from Britain's Droxford Naval Institute also noted this. The report published by them expressed suspicion that “Type 800”, despite the complete absence of relevant comments from the naval command and the political leadership of Israel, are the most important means of nuclear deterrence for this country. This is the reason for the special interest of Russian intelligence in them.
Let us note at once: the fact that Israel has long had a serious arsenal of weapons of mass destruction is a Polichinel secret. It is widely known phrase, which is said to have been uttered in the 70's by a representative of the leadership of this country: “We do not have nuclear weapons. But if necessary, we will use them immediately.
What is in this Jewish arsenal and how much - there are very different opinions on this issue. They say up to 400 warheads and more. And, say, according to the 2014 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) yearbook, Israel already had about 80 nuclear warheads by that time.
Now, in the context of severe military and political turbulence in the Middle East region and justified fears of Israelis and Americans about the prospects of Iran's nuclear policy, this number at the IDF's disposal has definitely increased. And in the most decisive way.
If so, then what, in fact, have the Israeli Navy been talking about so far? As has already been said, so far - exclusively about long-range cruise missiles capable of hitting ground targets from the ocean and sea depths. Ballistics in principle simply impossible or extremely irrational to shoot from underwater from horizontally positioned torpedo tubes.
As it is claimed abroad, cruise missiles in the Popeye Turbo SLCM (submarine-launched cruise missile) variant have been produced for several decades by the large Israeli missile company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Even in the expert community, it is commonly believed that each Popeye Turbo SLCM is capable of carrying a warhead with a yield of at least 200 kilotons.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, “the open literature contains little information about this system.” But it is known that at full range, this Israeli cruise missile was first tested in 2002 with the assistance of the U.S. Navy, which tightly sealed off from outsiders a huge area of firing.
Then it flew about 1500 kilometers (about 930 miles). It is easy to guess that this is enough for the Israelis to attack the capital of Iran with “doomsday weapons” from, say, the eastern Mediterranean, where their main base is located. And if launched, for example, from the Persian Gulf, it is even enough.
Meanwhile, it is accurately known that first in 2009 and then in 2019, Israeli missile Dolphins were already on combat duty in the Persian Gulf. This could not be concealed, because both times, before reaching the patrol areas, the Jewish naval sailors in a surface position had to pass through the shallow Suez Canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. And then return to Haifa by the same route.
Thus, it is reasonable to assert that Iran, and possibly a number of other Middle Eastern states unfriendly to Tel Aviv, have long been in the sights of nuclear missile submarines of the Israeli Navy. What is this for Israel?
The main option of using sea-based weapons of mass destruction in this country is traditionally called the “second strike theory”. Probably by analogy with the term “retaliatory strike” adopted in Russia. This is when almost the entire country is literally reduced to rubble after a sudden enemy attack. But someone and something survived in the midst of radioactive ruins, capable of the same large-scale retaliation on the enemy's territory. Actually, in the modern world this is called the policy of strategic deterrence.
It is clear that this is only in case Iran also acquires weapons of mass destruction in the near future. Which, of course, cannot be ruled out.
It is also quite possible that Tel Aviv has long ago drawn up plans not for a retaliatory, but for a preventive nuclear strike against the Persians. Unlike combat aviation, the Flotilla-7 missile submarines would be the best suited for this purpose. Since they are capable of stealthily approaching the enemy coast at the shortest possible salvo distance.
But soon, after the just-launched INS Drakon enters service in 2025, the operational capabilities of the Israeli Navy and its superiority over the fleets of any of its Arab neighbors in the Middle East will surely increase significantly.
Since for the first time in the history of the Israeli Navy, sea-based ballistic missiles will be added to the Popeye Turbo SLCM cruise missiles. Most likely, they will also be nuclear-tipped.
So far, no information about the name of the new ship-based weapons of the Jewish Navy has been made widely available. Moreover, its combat capabilities and tactical and technical parameters are unknown.
There is only speculation that the INS Drakon launch silos are designed for underwater launches of smaller analogs of the Jericho-3 land-based medium-range tactical ballistic missiles. The development of “Jericho” of this type in Israel under conditions of the deepest secrecy was completed by 2005 by the already mentioned company Rafael.
As in the case with the nuclear arsenal of the Jewish state, not only about the newest naval - even about the ground-based version of Jericho-3, which has been on alert for a long time, almost nothing is reliably known. Again - only expert conclusions.
So, according to such conclusions of some foreign specialists, the maximum range of Jericho-3, depending on the combat equipment is estimated at 6500 kilometers. And in some cases - even up to 11,500 kilometers. That with good reason can be considered an intercontinental range.
They also say that the head part of such a missile is equipped with 2-3 warheads. And it itself with a two-stage engine.
In short, for any fleet - a monster, not a medium-range missile. I am sure that it is absolutely unrealistic to push something like this in the amount of 4-6 units on not the largest non-nuclear submarine, which is much smaller than even our diesel-electric “Varshavyanka”.
And if in the process of modernization and reduce the size of Jericho-3, then not by times? Because then we will get something not even close to resembling the ground-based “source”.
In my opinion, the only option remains: for their prospective Dakar-class submarines and the transitional variant of INS Drakon, the Israelis have just created a completely new sea-based missile system. Naturally, it has much more modest range performance than the land-based version. It is not excluded - having borrowed for it certain technical solutions from the long-proven and tested Jericho-3.
Almost certainly, the resulting weapon looks quite formidable by any standards. And with nuclear equipment, it is also a genuine “doomsday” weapon.
Is it no coincidence that the commander of the Israeli Navy, Brigadier General David Saar Salama, recently emphasized the strategic importance for his country just launched on November 12 in Kiel, the newest submarine INS Drakon?
Specifically, the General stated, “Drakon will be the cornerstone of the security of the State of Israel. Visible and invisible, it will operate in remote and hidden areas for extended periods. This submarine strengthens the power of the Israeli navy, the IDF and the State of Israel, positioning us to meet challenges at the most decisive levels.”
When the previous five “Type 800” submarines were launched, such bravura was never heard. One has to wonder why.
Source - Svobodnaya Pressa .
Sergey Ishchenko
По материалам: http://www.planet-today.com/2024/11/flotilla-7-israel-got-submarine-that.html