TEL AVIV (Sputnik) – The Israeli Navy has received its fifth Dolphin-class submarine, built in Germany, local media reported Tuesday.
The newest submarine, which is nuclear-capable according to foreign media reports, was met by the country’s military command and leading politicians, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin.
The submarine is "a formidable war machine, the most advanced, complex and most expensive" unit in the Israeli military’s arsenal, Rivlin stated.
"In the decades to come, the INS Rahav will take an active part in defending the country and its maritime territory, by acting deeper, further and longer underwater. Seeing without being seen, keeping a watchful eye, and projecting our operational abilities on the naval front," Israel’s president was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel.
The submarine was constructed by the German Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipbuilding company. The previous vessel of its kind, the Tanin sub, was delivered to Israel in September 2014. Israel and Germany have already signed a contract for a sixth submarine.
