Israel’s new Drakon submarine could help Navy support missions in Iran, Yemen - preview

In the last three years, I have made around two dozen exciting field visits to Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and other places, but the new highlight was on Thursday: boarding Israel's newest submarine at sea.

A 20-minute ride on a fast boat from the Haifa naval base brought me and a small group of other journalists to the submarine, most of which was still submerged. The first sight of the INS Drakon was its green turret and the blue and white Israeli flag jutting out from the otherwise entirely blue sea.

The highlight of the tour was being able to peer through one of the submarine's two periscopes, seeing the sea-level battlespace while my body itself was still deep underwater.

Drakon submarine commander Cmdr. "A" told the Post that the longer length of the ship enables a higher quality and quantity of weapons, as well as electrical and oxygen system capabilities, to remain at sea for a longer period of time.

Rear-Admiral Guy Levy, the number two officer in the navy, said the Drakon's ability to stay at sea longer could help support missions in far-away places such as Iran and Yemen.

This is a preview of the full article about the author's visit, which will be published at 8 p.m. Israel time this evening.