Dakar-class submarine

Class overview
Builders	ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS)
Operators	Israeli Navy
Preceded by	Dolphin class
Cost	EUR €3 billion (Total deal)[1]
In service	Expected to enter active service from 2031.[2]
Planned	3[3]
General characteristics
Type	Attack submarine
Length	74 m (243 ft)[4] estimated
Propulsion	Diesel-electric propulsion Air-independent propulsion (AIP)[5]
Armament	Submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), Anti-ship missiles (AShM)
Notes	Planned to replace the first batch of three Dolphin-class submarines.[6]

The Dakar-class submarine (Hebrew : הצוללות מסדרת דקר) is a class of AIP-capable, diesel-electric multipurpose attack submarines ordered by the Israeli Navy from German-based naval conglomerate ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).^[7]

The Dakar class features a new design compared to the Israeli Navy's currently-serving Dolphin-class submarines. It has been customized to fulfill the operational requirements of the Israeli Navy.^[8] The class was named in honor of INS Dakar, an Israeli submarine which mysteriously sank in 1968.^[9]

In January 2022, Israel's Ministry of Defense ordered three submarines as a replacement to the first batch of the Israeli Navy's Dolphin-class submarines; the first of the new submarines are slated to enter service within nine years.^[2][10]

Current details about the class' design are scant; however, it is understood that the submarines have been specifically engineered to fulfill the operational requirements of the Israeli Navy.^[11] According to a computer-generated rendering released by TKMS, the design of the Dakar class appears to be similar to the Dolphin-class submarines and the concept art of the Type 212CD submarine, currently being built for the German Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy.^[12]

• Inclusion of an enlarged sail along the hull; with regard to other conventionally-powered submarines, an enlarged sail is reportedly a rare feature.^[12] Several reasons suggested as the motive for the inclusion of the enlarged sail include :
  • Integration of an airlock for special operations.
  • Additional space for deploying unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
  • Expansion of command-and-control facilities, for supporting various types of ISR capabilities.
  • Additional space for equipping submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM).
• Inclusion of an "X-shaped" rudder configuration, similar to that of the Dolphin-class submarines; however, the Dakar-class design omits the smaller horizontal and vertical stabilizers – features which were present on the Dolphin class.^[13]
• Inclusion of a submarine screw configuration reminiscent to that of the Type 218SG submarine and the Type 216 submarine concept.^[13]

Current details about the armament of the Dakar class are scant; however, it is believed that apart from its torpedo tubes, the class' design may incorporate vertical launching system (VLS) cells, capable of firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), or submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM) – presumably equipped with nuclear warheads or surface-to-air missile (SAM).^[12]

Little is known about the class' designated capabilities, ostensibly due to Israel's tight control on information and confidentiality regarding its military assets, especially its submarine fleet.^[14] According to Benny Gantz, Israel's Minister of Defense, the Dakar-class submarines would "upgrade the capabilities of the Israeli Navy, and will contribute to Israel's security superiority in the region".^[15]

Concurrently, it is believed that the submarines may feature ballistic missiles, given the submarines' unusually long sail - presumably to accommodate VLS cells, although there is no indication that Israel has, or is currently developing an SLBM.^[16]

The suggestion that an enlarged sail may probably be used for housing nuclear-tipped missiles is very likely; for example, early-generations of Soviet-designed ballistic missile submarines, such as the Project 611 submarines, carried ballistic missiles in their sail.^[13] If true, the Dakar class would be the second class of conventionally-powered, air-independent propulsion (AIP)-equipped submarines capable of carrying and launching ballistic missiles; the first one is the KSS-III submarine operated by the Republic of Korea Navy, although it carries ballistic missiles in its hull, not in its sail.^[17]

Aside from the prospective use of ballistic missiles, the possibility of utilizing VLS cells in the sail for accommodating additional missiles – whose size may be too large to be launched from either the hull or from torpedo tubes – such as submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM), is also likely.^[18]

In 2017, Israel and Germany signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire three new submarines, as part of the Dolphin class, at a cost of USD $1.5 billion.^[19] According to the deal, Germany agreed to subsidize up to 30% of the submarine's hull, mechanical and electrical costs.^[20]

In 2018, the Israeli Navy announced that the three future submarines were to be classified as the Dakar class, in honor of INS Dakar (Hebrew: אח"י דקר) - an ex-Royal Navy T-class submarine purchased by the Israeli Navy, which mysteriously sunk while being transferred to Israel in 1968.^[5]

On 20 January 2022, Israel's Ministry of Defense officially contracted TKMS to construct the three diesel-electric attack submarines, at a cost of EUR €3 billion.^[21] The three designated submarines are poised to replace the first batch of three Dolphin-class submarines, which were built in Germany and commissioned between 1999 and 2000.^[22] The deal also included the creation of a training simulator in Israel, and the supply of spare parts.^[23]

Reportedly, ThyssenKrupp invested €250 million into TKMS in 2019, in anticipation of the order - developing a new shipyard in Kiel to operate as a new centre of competence for submarine manufacturing capabilities, as well as the construction of a new shipbuilding hall and fuel-cell production site.^[24]

The deal for the three submarines - which was originally estimated to cost around €1.8 billion, has increased by a margin of €1.2 billion, to a total of €3 billion; the increase in the price is yet to be officially clarified.^[25] The German government, which agreed to subsidize €600 million into the deal, out of the original price of €1.8 billion, asserted that it would not raise its subsidy in proportion with the increase in price; as a result, the net cost to Israel will thus be twice as high, at €2.4 billion.^[26] However, the Ministry of Defense had approved the procurement of the three submarines at the inflated price, without the public or the Knesset - Israel's parliament, being notified.^[27]

Name	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Status
INS Dakar	Germany ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS)		Expected in 2031[28][29]	Ordered
INS (??)				Ordered
INS (??)				Ordered

• Type 214 submarine - A class of export-oriented diesel-electric attack-submarines, also developed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and currently operated by the navies of the Hellenic Navy, the Portuguese Navy, the Republic of Korea Navy and the Turkish Naval Forces.
• Scorpène-class submarine - A class of export-oriented diesel-electric attack-submarines, jointly developed by Naval Group and Navantia and currently operated by the Chilean Navy, the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Indian Navy and the Brazilian Navy.
• S-80 Plus submarine - A class of conventionally-powered attack-submarines, currently being built by Navantia for the Spanish Navy.
• Blekinge-class submarine is a class of submarine developed by Kockums for the Swedish Navy
• KSS-III submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack and ballistic missile submarines, built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries and operated by the Republic of Korea Navy.
• Sōryū-class submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack-submarines, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and operated by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
• Taigei-class submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack submarines currently being built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
• Type 039A submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack-submarines operated by the People's Liberation Army Navy (China) and being built for the navies of the Royal Thai Navy and the Pakistan Navy.
• Lada-class submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack-submarines being built for the Russian Navy.
• List of ships of the Israeli Navy