Israel orders two German submarines at discount
05 Dec 2005
By Dan Williams
Reuters
TEL AVIV, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Israel has ordered two German submarines at a discounted price of some $325 million each after Berlin agreed to accept payment over 10 years, Israeli security sources said on Monday.
They said despite deep cuts foreseen for Israel's defence budget, top brass decided the new Dolphin-class submarines were needed to counter long-range threats like Iran, whose nuclear programme has raised fears it is seeking atomic weapons.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, already has three of the diesel-powered Dolphins.
"The order has been signed, and the Germans have provided an export license. It is now a matter of finding the $650 million that we have to pay over the next 10 years, although delivery of the Dolphins is expected before that," a senior source said.
German media reports said last month that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's outgoing government agreed after years of reluctance to sell the submarines to Israel at a third-off discount.
The German government had long hesitated over a new sale, according to the media reports, for fear Israel could fit the Dolphins with nuclear arms and threaten Middle East stability.
But according to Israeli security sources, the dispute was over whether Germany should charge the full price.
A German government spokesman declined comment on the deal.
"It's a matter for the German federal security council and this information is confidential,"the spokesman said.
After the Gulf War in the early 1990s, Germany, a staunch supporter of the Jewish state, gave two Dolphins to Israel, which then bought a third for a fraction of the usual price. Israel previously had only World War Two-era Vickers submarines.
STRATEGIC DEPTH
The Dolphins are the vanguard of a navy that otherwise acts primarily as Israel's coastguard, cutting off would-be infiltrators from Lebanon and Palestinian militants based in the Gaza Strip.
According to security sources, Israel's Dolphins go as far as North Africa and the Gulf to monitor enemy capabilities.
Analysts believe they carry nuclear missiles for a "second-strike" retaliation should Israel come under catastrophic attack. Israel does not comment on its assumed atomic arsenal under a policy of "strategic ambiguity".
Tensions between Israel and arch-foe Iran escalated after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called in October for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map". Iran later said the remarks, which drew global censure, did not constitute a threat.
Iran, the world's fourth biggest oil producer, says its nuclear programme is for energy needs only. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said last week the Jewish state could not accept the emergence of a nuclear-armed Iran, but he steered clear of issuing any military threat.
By Dan Williams
Reuters
TEL AVIV, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Israel has ordered two German submarines at a discounted price of some $325 million each after Berlin agreed to accept payment over 10 years, Israeli security sources said on Monday.
They said despite deep cuts foreseen for Israel's defence budget, top brass decided the new Dolphin-class submarines were needed to counter long-range threats like Iran, whose nuclear programme has raised fears it is seeking atomic weapons.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, already has three of the diesel-powered Dolphins.
"The order has been signed, and the Germans have provided an export license. It is now a matter of finding the $650 million that we have to pay over the next 10 years, although delivery of the Dolphins is expected before that," a senior source said.
German media reports said last month that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's outgoing government agreed after years of reluctance to sell the submarines to Israel at a third-off discount.
The German government had long hesitated over a new sale, according to the media reports, for fear Israel could fit the Dolphins with nuclear arms and threaten Middle East stability.
But according to Israeli security sources, the dispute was over whether Germany should charge the full price.
A German government spokesman declined comment on the deal.
"It's a matter for the German federal security council and this information is confidential,"the spokesman said.
After the Gulf War in the early 1990s, Germany, a staunch supporter of the Jewish state, gave two Dolphins to Israel, which then bought a third for a fraction of the usual price. Israel previously had only World War Two-era Vickers submarines.
STRATEGIC DEPTH
The Dolphins are the vanguard of a navy that otherwise acts primarily as Israel's coastguard, cutting off would-be infiltrators from Lebanon and Palestinian militants based in the Gaza Strip.
According to security sources, Israel's Dolphins go as far as North Africa and the Gulf to monitor enemy capabilities.
Analysts believe they carry nuclear missiles for a "second-strike" retaliation should Israel come under catastrophic attack. Israel does not comment on its assumed atomic arsenal under a policy of "strategic ambiguity".
Tensions between Israel and arch-foe Iran escalated after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called in October for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map". Iran later said the remarks, which drew global censure, did not constitute a threat.
Iran, the world's fourth biggest oil producer, says its nuclear programme is for energy needs only. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said last week the Jewish state could not accept the emergence of a nuclear-armed Iran, but he steered clear of issuing any military threat.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 8:31 AM
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