Israel Secretly Receives Mysterious INS Drakon Submarine as Russia Closely Watches

Israel has discreetly received the INS Drakon, its newest and final Dolphin II class submarine from Germany.

The handover was reported by the naval publication Marine Forum on August 5, with additional analysis provided by the Ukrainian defense outlet Defense Express.

Marine Forum reported that a secret transfer ceremony took place at the TKMS shipyard in the German port city of Kiel, though the event's clandestine nature remains unconfirmed.

Following the reported ceremony, the submarine put to sea for the first time, flying the Israeli flag. Defense Express noted that the boat is expected to complete its trials under that flag before sailing on to Israel.

The INS Drakon has been an unusually protracted project. According to Defense Express, Israel ordered the vessel from TKMS in 2011, construction began in 2012, and the launch did not follow until 2024. From keel-laying to delivery, the build spanned roughly 14 years, a long timeline even for a diesel-electric boat.

The Drakon is the sixth and last vessel of the Dolphin II class. Defense Express indicated it likely served as a testbed for solutions destined for Israel's future Dakar-class submarines, the first of which entered construction at the same shipyard in 2024, shortly after the Drakon was floated out.

The submarine's design has drawn particular attention. At roughly 73 meters, it is considerably longer than the standard Dolphin II hull of 57.3 meters, and it carries a noticeably enlarged sail.

That structure has fueled unconfirmed reports of between two and eight vertical launch cells for long-range cruise or ballistic missiles, although neither Israel nor TKMS has confirmed any such capability.

Defense Express noted that the boat carries ten torpedo tubes, six of 533mm caliber and four of 650mm.

Its submerged displacement is estimated at 2,400 to 3,000 tons, with a crew of 45 and a top speed above 25 knots. If fitted with vertical launchers, the Drakon could, in theory, contribute to Israel's naval deterrent, a prospect of likely interest to Moscow's close ally, Iran.

The vessel's mystery extended to Russia's response. Defense Express reported that during the Drakon's 2024 sea trials, Moscow dispatched two reconnaissance ships to monitor it. For comparison, Russia sent only a single intelligence vessel to observe NATO's large-scale BALTOPS naval exercises, underscoring the unusual level of attention the submarine attracted.

Russia's own fleet of intelligence-gathering vessels has faced pressure of a very different kind. Its Black Sea reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs, a Project 18280 vessel, has been left extensively damaged by a series of Ukrainian strikes between 2023 and 2026, and now sits moored at Sevastopol in occupied Crimea with much of its surveillance equipment stripped away.

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