The Israeli Navy recently took delivery of its newest submarine, Israeli financial newspaper Globes has reported.
The future INS Drakon (דרקון; "Dragon") is the sixth and final diesel-electric submarine in the Dolphin-class, which was developed with Israeli assistance. All six boats in the class were built entirely in Germany (initially by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, later and currently by TKMS) exclusively for the Israeli Navy.
The future Drakon has a length of 68.6 metres, a beam of 6.8 metres, a draught of 6.2 metres, a maximum speed of 25 knots, and a crew complement of 35. The submarine's armament includes torpedoes and mines, though the fitted torpedo tubes may also be used for the deployment of swimmer delivery vehicles.
The future Drakon was originally named Dakar in honour of an earlier Israeli Navy submarine that was lost at sea along with her entire crew in 1968 barely two months after she was commissioned into service.
The families of the crew of the first Dakar had protested against the name being used for the sixth Dolphin-class boat, saying that the "recycling" of the name would only disrespect the memory of the lost sailors.
Navy officials decided to respect the families' wishes and the name Drakon was consequently chosen as a compromise, partly because the words "Drakon" and "Dakar" are written in Hebrew using the same letters.