Israel’s fifth Dolphin Class Submarine, the INS Rahav, received a naval homecoming party Tuesday even before it had docked in Israel, as sailors and previous members of the Israeli Navy set sail to greet the ship and escort it on its first voyage home.
The previous submarine to join the Navy, the INS Tanin, was handed over to Israel in September of 2014. Vice Admiral Ram Rotberg said at the time that it “can dive deeper, go farther for a longer time and can operate at a level we have not seen until today.”
A sixth sub is to be delivered by 2019, and Israel has even been reported to be interested in ordering three more. Rotberg said Tuesday that it will be named the INS Dakar, after the submarine by the same name that was lost in 1968 with all 69 crewmembers on board.