INS Drakon Submarine Delivered to the Israeli Navy

The ThyssenKrupp (TKMS) shipyards have delivered the INS Drakon to the Israeli Navy, the most expensive submarine in Israel's history. This was reported by the German website MarineForum. As revealed by Globes last September, the delivery of the submarine, which was scheduled for 2025, was delayed and took place only this year.

INS Drakon is the sixth submarine that Israel has purchased from ThyssenKrupp for the 7th Flotilla, and the largest built in Germany since World War II. Its cost is estimated at approximately 550 million euros, which is currently about 634 million dollars.

In the field of submarines, Israel is completely dependent on Germany in general and on ThyssenKrupp in particular, and this dependence is expected to continue over the next decade. On the other hand, in the field of surface vessels, a certain change has occurred: in December 2024, the Ministry of Defense signed an agreement with Israel Shipyards for the first time in more than two decades for the purchase of five advanced Reshef-class ships, totaling about 840 million dollars. These ships are intended to replace the Nirit-class ships, which are expected to be retired after about 40 years of service.

Three more on the way

In 2018, the Navy decided to halt the development of the advanced submarine that was almost ready and to carry out a strategic change and a series of improvements, including the replacement of components. The significant change took time and costs rose accordingly: the design and planning phase of each submarine lasts about three years, while construction takes about seven years. Among other things, unlike Israel's first three submarines, INS Tanin, INS Rahav, and INS Drakon are equipped with an AIP system, which allows batteries to be charged underwater, thus allowing for a longer dive time.

According to reports in the international media, the length of INS Drakon exceeds 70 meters. Its size allows for a larger crew as well as a wider range of equipment and weaponry. Its weight exceeds 2,000 tons, a figure that makes it the largest and most powerful submarine in the Middle East. According to a report by Der Spiegel, the submarines INS Tanin and INS Rahav are capable of staying underwater for up to 18 consecutive days and reaching a speed of 25 knots, which is about 46.3 kilometers per hour.

Looking to the future, three additional submarines of the Dakar series are expected to arrive in Israel starting in 2031, at a rate of one every year and a half, to replace the submarines INS Dolphin, INS Leviathan, and INS Tekuma, which entered service in 1999 and 2000. Israel signed the contract with ThyssenKrupp in 2022, at an estimated cost of about 3 billion euros. The German government is expected to finance about 20% of the transaction cost.

In summary, the submarine sector is expected to be a significant anchor in the German-Israeli security relationship in the coming decades. Meanwhile, in terms of Israeli sales, the Arrow 3 deal has positioned Germany in second place on the list of buyers. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows that between 2021 and 2025, German purchases accounted for about 21% of Israeli sales. India is in first place with 29%, and the USA is in third place with 7.8%.