Israel To Receive Fourth Dolphin Sub

May. 2, 2012 - 05:47PM   |  

By Barbara Opall-Rome

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120502/DEFREG04/305020005/Israel-Receive-Fourth-Dolphin-Sub?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

TEL AVIV — Vice Adm. Ram Rothberg, commander of the Israel Navy, and senior Defense Ministry representatives were in Germany on May 2, most likely to prepare for receipt of Israel’s fourth nuclear-capable Dolphin submarine.

Israel’s Walla website reported that Rothberg and a delegation led by retired Maj. Gen. Udi Shani, director-general of Israel’s MoD, were meeting with German counterparts in Kiel, home of the shipbuilding division of Thyssen-Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS).

The German shipyard has been under contract with the government of Israel since 2005 for the fourth and fifth submarines of the Israeli Navy’s planned six-submarine fleet. Under that 2005 deal, Germany agreed to underwrite one third of construction costs.

A contract for a sixth submarine was recently signed, with Berlin agreeing to subsidize $180 million, about a third of hull construction costs.

When asked about the Israeli online report, a former Navy officer said Israel’s official receipt of the submarine does not mean the vessels will immediately set sail for Navy headquarters in Haifa Bay. According to the retired officer, the submarine could remain in Germany for several more months for systems integration and sea trials.

In an interview earlier this year, a senior Navy commander said the service hoped to declare its fourth Dolphin submarine operational in early 2013, with the fifth German-built submarine slated for operational deployment in 2014.