The Israeli Navy’s newest submarine, the “Rahav, ” set sail for Haifa from the German port of Kiel on Thursday.
During the voyage, the Rahav will drop anchor and hold a brief ceremony near the spot where the Israeli submarine “Dakar” sank in 1968.
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The Rahav staffed by 50 personnel, and “minimal weapons needed to protect itself, ” before its arrival in Israel next month.
Rahav is the fifth of Israel’s Dolphin submarines, and second new-generation AIP (air independent propulsion) platform.
It is capable for firing cruise missiles and missiles with nuclear warheads. Each submarine is estimated to cost 500 million euros but a significant part of the cost is provided by the German government.
The Rahav was manufactured by German shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutche Werft.
The INS Rahav, like the INS Tanin, can use AIP fuel cells to supplement its diesel-electric engines, and does not have to surface often to recharge its batteries.
Speaking in July 2014, Lt.-Cmdr. Y., who was commander of the navy’s submarine school until his retirement last year, told The Jerusalem Post: “Submarines bring a level of intelligence to Israel that cannot be achieved by other units.”
“Drones that fly in the air can be shot down, ” he told JPost.
“But a submarine can stay in enemy territory for weeks, and no one knows it’s there. It can lurk off coastal regions without any problem at all. The level of intelligence this brings is not heard about by the public. All of our operations build on past operations.”
