Israel receives 5th German-made submarine

A fifth nuclear-capable German submarine arrived in Israel's northern shore on Tuesday and was received in an official ceremony.

The INS Rahav, given after the Hebrew name for the Greek god of the sea, is a second-class Dolphin vessel, equipped to carry nuclear warheads, local media reported.

In the next few weeks, INS Rahav will be fitted with Israeli-made advanced weapons and communication systems, as well as noise filters, according to Israel's Ynet news site.

In the celebratory ceremony in the port of Haifa in northern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Chancellor Angela Merkel for the new vessel, saying it will play a central part in Israel's defense strategy.

"More than anything else, our submarine fleet acts as a deterrent to our enemies who want to destroy us," he said, adding that Israel is fighting "threats in the in cyberspace, in the air, on the ground, underground, in outer space, in the sea, and underwater."

A similar vessel, INS Tanin, arrived in Israel last year and already became operational. The sixth, and last, German submarine is expected to arrive in 2019.

Germany has emerged as Israel's top navy supplier, after signing a 430-million-euro deal to supply the Jewish state four naval patrol ships to protect the country's offshore gas fields.

Germany often subsidizes defense projects in Israel as part of its atonement for the Nazi Holocaust during the Second World War. Endit