Dolphin class

German-built diesel-electric attack submarines of the Israeli Navy, combining fuel-cell air-independent propulsion, special-forces accommodations, and a widely reported — but officially unconfirmed — sea-based nuclear second-strike role.

Overview

The Dolphin class is the backbone of Israel’s submarine flotilla, comprising three conventionally powered Dolphin I boats (commissioned 1999–2000) and three longer, air-independent propulsion (AIP)-equipped Dolphin II boats (2014–2026). Built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW, now part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems) in Kiel, the six-boat force is unique among Western operators for its oversized 650 mm torpedo tubes and the analytical near-consensus that it carries nuclear-capable Popeye Turbo submarine-launched cruise missiles, giving Israel a survivable second-strike capability. Israel neither confirms nor denies that assessment, and virtually all operational activity is classified. What is publicly known — a 2000 cruise-missile test off Sri Lanka observed by the U.S. Navy, and a 2026 IDF disclosure that a Dolphin operated at its farthest range ever while submarines were simultaneously in three arenas — is detailed below.

Development

Planning for a new Israeli submarine began in the late 1980s, but an initial 1990 order was cancelled and later revived under a compensation-era agreement with Germany. Berlin donated the first two Dolphin I boats and split the cost of the third, a pattern of generous German co-funding that has persisted across every batch. The three Dolphin I units — INS Dolphin, INS Leviathan and INS Tekumah — were commissioned between May 1999 and 2000 and replaced the aging Gal class. A second batch (Dolphin II) was agreed in 2006, incorporating a roughly 10 m hull extension to accommodate an HDW fuel-cell AIP system, enlarging submerged displacement to approximately 2,400 tonnes. INS Tanin entered service in 2014 and INS Rahav in 2016; the final boat, INS Drakon, was launched at Kiel on 12 November 2024 and is expected to reach Israel in summer 2026. Construction of the successor Dakar class — a “completely new design” also funded partly by Germany — began the same day, with the €3 billion contract signed on 20 January 2022 under the shadow of Israel’s Case 3000 corruption investigation.

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