Germany To Provide Israel With A Sixth Submarine

Monday July 18, 2011 15:39 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli online daily, Yedioth Aharonoth, reported that Germany agreed to a request made by Israel to provide it with a “Dolphin” submarine that has the capabilities of carrying nuclear heads.

Dolphin Submarine - File Quds Press

Israel has been holding talks with Berlin in recent years trying to convince the country to provide it with a sixth submarine.

During his last week visit to Israel, German Defense Minister, Thomas de Maizier, told Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, that Berlin decided to provide Tel Aviv with the requested submarine.

He vowed to conclude all needed paperwork in order to transfer €135 Million to finance the project.

Dolphin submarines are capable of remaining under water for extended periods of time, and can load and fire nuclear weapons.

Germany has been providing Israel with submarines since the 1990’s. It gave Israel the first two submarines during the first Gulf War in 1991, “in appreciation for Israel’s self-restraint when the former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, fired missiles into Israel”.

Yedioth Aharonoth quoted foreign media agencies stating that the latest two submarines aim at preserving Israel’s nuclear power “in order to be able to counter any future attack by enemies who have the military power to destroy it”.

The new submarines can sail for a distance of 45000 Nautical Miles with a maximum speed of 20 Nautical miles (1.853 kilometers) per hour. They can carry dozens of soldiers and are provided with advanced military and security equipment.

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