IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir on Thursday called the arrival of Israel’s sixth submarine, the INS Drakon, a major step in strengthening the IDF’s capabilities during a ceremony at Haifa's naval base.
“Even these days, our eyes are open toward what is happening in Iran and among its proxies. The Iranian regime is hurt and wounded, but has not learned to change its intentions,” Zamir said at the ceremony.
“With the integration of the INS Drakon into the Navy, the Navy reaches improved maritime readiness and new heights in its capabilities and operational strength: more covert, farther-reaching, deeper and more lethal.”
Zamir added that Israel’s recent military achievements were “unprecedented,” citing operations against senior figures, strengthened defensive readiness, improved deterrence and expanded operational capabilities.
Herzog: 'INS Drakon' is a new chapter for Israel's Navy
President Isaac Herzog said the vessel represented a glimpse into the future of the Navy, and added that the submarine fleet would expand Israel's operational capabilities.
“Today, as we receive the INS Drakon into the ranks of the Navy, we look for a moment into the future,” Herzog said.
“The Drakon submarine joining the Navy today, like the additional submarines that will arrive after it, together reflect the bright future of the Navy. A future that means innovation, a future that means broader operational capabilities, a future that means immense power available to the State of Israel, more than ever before.
"Power that we will be able to use, and will not hesitate to use when necessary, even thousands of kilometers from Israel’s borders.”
Herzog said that in recent years, the Navy sailors and many others involved in the project had worked at the Kiel naval base in Germany.
“Over the past two years, Israeli Navy soldiers and many others connected to this enormous project worked at the Kiel port on German soil. Another almost unimaginable symbol,” he said.
“Eighty-one years since the terrible Holocaust, the nation-state of the Jewish people is building together with Germany the crown jewel of global defense engineering. At the same time, the State of Israel is not only importing security equipment from Germany, but is also exporting advanced defense systems to it, thereby contributing to the defense of all of Europe.”
Herzog thanked Zamir, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Ministry of Defense Director General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, Navy commanders and soldiers, and representatives of the German government and Thyssenkrupp for their roles in bringing the submarine into service.
Addressing the submarine crews, Herzog praised their work and said the arrival of the Drakon marked a new chapter in Israel’s naval capabilities.
“Above all, I want to thank you, the submarine fighters under the command of Cmdr. O. Two years of training and long weeks at sea have brought you here as heralds of a new chapter in Israel’s maritime strength,” he said.
“We hold in our hearts, with appreciation and pride, the memory of the 69 members of the Dakar crew, and send a comforting embrace to their families.”
He told the Drakon’s crew that the human element remained the decisive factor despite the submarine’s advanced technology.
“Today, when the Drakon submarine is entrusted to you, the fighters of the submarine flotilla, among the finest sons and daughters of Israeli society in all its diversity, we remember one clear principle: the person determines. The person operating the machine, whether it is the most advanced and expensive machine, is the one who will always bring victory and the ability to complete the mission in full,” Herzog said.
Herzog also referred to the legacy of the INS Dakar submarine, which disappeared in 1968 and whose crew of 69 sailors were lost.
“Even at this ceremony, especially at this ceremony, we remember well the painful journey of the Dakar submarine, whose name not only serves as inspiration for the Drakon submarine, but also represents the immense courage and strength of spirit that characterized its crew,” Herzog said.