INS Drakon, Israel's sixth submarine, arrives in Haifa

After fourteen years of planning, construction and systems integration in Germany, the Israeli Navy's sixth submarine arrived in Haifa today. Her name is INS Drakon.

Dozens of metres long, crewed by dozens of fighters, the vessel's story is the story of those fighters: men from across the country who came together for a mission that includes special operations, intelligence gathering, and maintaining control and deterrence across Israel's maritime domain, able to reach any point at any time.

These men spend days and weeks at sea without seeing daylight, without following the news, without knowing what is happening at home, all aboard INS Drakon, Haifa, 2025.

Kobi Finkler on the bridge of INS Drakon (IDF Spokesperson)

The IDF says that since October 7, 2023, the Navy has taken on new fronts, including Iran, Yemen and additional countries in the western Mediterranean. In light of the expanding challenges, the military emphasises the need for additional vessels and manpower.

One area on which the Navy is focusing is the underwater domain. The military defines this field as a "surprise" on which the service is working and makes clear that significant emphasis is being placed on it.

At the same time, the IDF is planning to transfer additional Dvora-class patrol boats to the Gulf of Eilat, in order to address the Houthi threat and the Jordanian border, alongside additional Tze'elim-class vessels.

In the coming years, according to Navy sources, new Reshef-class ships are also expected to enter service, replacing the veteran Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boats. This is in addition to acquiring other advanced vessels and armaments and missiles suited to current challenges.

The arrival of Drakon is part of the expansion of capabilities the Navy is discussing, against the backdrop of the new fronts and the importance the IDF attaches to the maritime domain and the ability to operate far from Israel's shores.

With Drakon's arrival, the Navy will have six submarines at its disposal: three Dolphin-class and three Dolphin AIP-class. Navy officials say the fleet gives Israel a technological and qualitative advantage and strengthens maritime control, beyond the superiority already achieved in parts of the domain.

One of the central issues the service highlights is the importance of maritime transport to Israel. A senior Navy commander illustrated the gap by comparing aircraft to ships: according to him, the largest wide-body aircraft can carry about a hundred warheads, while a ship can carry some 15,000 containers holding vast quantities of munitions.

The Navy emphasises that 98 per cent of the goods reaching Israel pass through the sea, and therefore control of the maritime domain, both in the Mediterranean and in the Red Sea, is critical.

"We need to remember that at the end of the day we are an island nation," Navy sources say. According to them, "the major challenges are the Red Sea and Yemen," while attention is also being paid to the western Mediterranean, where there are countries hostile to Israel that could harm the ability to reach the country.