Israel stations Nuclear Subs near Iran

[Carsten Wiethoff]

From The Times:
Israel stations nuclear missile subs off Iran

Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv

Three German-built Israeli submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles are to be deployed in the Gulf near the Iranian coastline.
The first has been sent in response to Israeli fears that ballistic missiles developed by Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, a political and military organisation in Lebanon, could hit sites in Israel, including air bases and missile launchers.
The submarines of Flotilla 7 — Dolphin, Tekuma and Leviathan — have visited the Gulf before. But the decision has now been taken to ensure a permanent presence of at least one of the vessels.
The flotilla’s commander, identified only as “Colonel O”, told an Israeli newspaper: “We are an underwater assault force. We’re operating deep and far, very far, from our borders.”
Each of the submarines has a crew of 35 to 50, commanded by a colonel capable of launching a nuclear cruise missile.
The vessels can remain at sea for about 50 days and stay submerged up to 1,150ft below the surface for at least a week. Some of the cruise missiles are equipped with the most advanced nuclear warheads in the Israeli arsenal.
The deployment is designed to act as a deterrent, gather intelligence and potentially to land Mossad agents. “We’re a solid base for collecting sensitive information, as we can stay for a long time in one place,” said a flotilla officer.
The submarines could be used if Iran continues its programme to produce a nuclear bomb. “The 1,500km range of the submarines’ cruise missiles can reach any target in Iran,” said a navy officer.
Apparently responding to the Israeli activity, an Iranian admiral said: “Anyone who wishes to do an evil act in the Persian Gulf will receive a forceful response from us.”
Israel’s urgent need to deter the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance was demonstrated last month. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, was said to have shown President Barack Obama classified satellite images of a convoy of ballistic missiles leaving Syria on the way to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, will emphasise the danger to Obama in Washington this week.
Tel Aviv, Israel’s business and defence centre, remains the most threatened city in the world, said one expert. “There are more missiles per square foot targeting Tel Aviv than any other city,” he said.

[Ed Jewett]

[B]Israeli Nuclear Missile Boats Off Iranian Coast
by James Dunnigan
June 14, 2010[/B]

Israel is stationing three of its five Dolphin class submarines in the Red Sea, and will keep one of them operating off the Iranian coast at all times. These subs will be armed with cruise missiles (equipped with nuclear warheads). Last year, Israel has received two more German built Dolphin class submarines, giving it a total of five (the others were received 9-10 years ago). The older boats have since been upgraded to include larger fuel capacity, converting more torpedo tubes to the larger 650mm size, and installing new electronics. The fuel and torpedo tube mods appear to have something to do with stationing the subs off the coast of Iran. Larger torpedo tubes allow the subs to carry longer range missiles. The larger fuel capacity makes it easier to move Dolphins from the Mediterranean to the Indian ocean. Although Israel has a naval base on the Red Sea, Egypt had, until recently, had not allowed Israeli subs to use the Suez canal. So the Dolphins were modified to go around Africa, if they had to. But now the Egyptians, who are also feuding with Iran, regularly allow Israeli subs to use the canal.
Larger fuel capacity also allows the subs to spend more time on station off the Iranian coast. Currently the Dolphins can stay at sea for about 40 days (moving at about 14 kilometers an hour, on the surface, for up to 8,000 kilometers). Larger fuel capacity extends range to over 10,000 kilometers, and endurance to about 50 days.
The two new Dolphins cost about $650 million each, with Germany picking up a third of the coast, as part of their reparations for World War II atrocities against Jews. The Dolphins have a fuel cell based propulsion system which enable them to stay under waters for over a week at a time. The Dolphins are also very quiet, and very difficult for the Iranians to hunt down and destroy. The first three Dolphins didn't have the AIP (Air Independent Propulsion) system.
Israel equipped it's new Dolphin class submarines with nuclear cruise missiles in 2002. Israel also fitted their 135 kilometer range Harpoon missiles with nuclear warheads. These missiles are fired from the sub's torpedo tubes. The 1,625 ton Dolphins can carry 16 torpedoes or missiles and have ten forward torpedo tubes (four of them the larger 650mm -26 inch- size). The Dolphins are considered the most modern non-nuclear subs in the world. The first three cost $320 million each. All have a crew of 35 and can dive to a depth of more than 600 feet. The Dolphin design is based on the German 209 class subs, but has been so heavily modified that it is considered a different class.
The Israelis have developed a cruise missile, which is has a range of 1,500 kilometers and carries a 200 kiloton nuclear warhead. The objective of deploying nukes on subs is to further enhance deterrence to any nation launching a nuclear strike against Israel. If one of the Dolphins are always at sea, even a first strike against Israel would not prevent a nuclear strike by submarine launched nukes.

http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles...4-2010.asp

The author's bio:
http://jimdunnigan.com/bio.htm#top

I know of this man because of my interest and research in simulation/wargaming. I have read his sizeable tomes which are a Jane's-like detailed, lengthy catalog of modern-day military weaponry, who has what, what the strategies and tactics are, and how best to simulate various encounters, battles, or wars.

[Jan Klimkowski]

The two new Dolphins cost about $650 million each, with Germany picking up a third of the cost, as part of their reparations for World War II atrocities against Jews.

How very humanitarian and altruistic of the Germans to provide nuclear-armed submarines to Israel's Dr Strangelovian leaders as supposed reparation for Nazi death camps.

Not. :evil:

[Ed Jewett]

The two new Dolphins cost about $650 million each, with Germany picking up a third of the coast, as part of their reparations for World War II atrocities against Jews.

How very humanitarian and altruistic of the Germans to provide nuclear-armed submarines to Israel's Dr Strangelovian leaders as supposed reparation for Nazi death camps.

Not. :evil:

If I owed you a long-unpaid debt, or if you sued me for "damages" in a civil trial and won, and I wrote the check, I would have no say in how you spent the money.

I attribute the evil here not to the source of the money (though I am certainly not excusing or denying the fact that there was evil afoot in Germany then) but to the recipient, whose insane and insatiable lust for "security" is so tragically misplaced by this and many other deeds, policies and actions. I can only think to my signature line from Ike, the book by Alan Watts called "The Wisdom of Insecurity", and my grandkids. The same amount of money spent in a desalinzation plant and irrigation system as a gift to the Palestinians, Jordanians and others in the Eastern Mediterranean cauldron might have provided more security in the long run than twice that kilo-tonnage. There is a calculator somewhere which allows you to plug in a kt number and see the scope and breadth of damage it will create centered on any major city in the US. It shows, of course, only the physical destruction, but not the economic or psychological ripples. Some simple measurements and you could easily transpose those circles of destruction to any place on the globe, and that's just one lil ole warhead. The arms race is no more sustainable than the hunt for cheap oil or the race to find a massively-lethal superBug. We have lost our way. Much of the blame for the 200-kt Dolphin delivery system must be placed at the feet of the American system and its people who do not ask questions; the deeper question is how Israel got that capability in the first place, and who looked (or was made to look) the other way. Some of the targeting data, for example, was 'gleaned' by way of deception.