A new kind of hunter patrols the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Not with slashing fins and razor-sharp teeth but with stealthy silence and nuclear warheads. This new predator is Israel’s fleet of strategic submarines called Dolphins. But don’t let the innocent name fool you – Dolphins represent the most dangerously opaque, second-strike nuclear capability in the world.

Israel has never confirmed nor denied it has nuclear weapons. But military analysts agree: Israel has the bomb. And in case they ever suffer a decapitating first-strike, Israel’s submarine fleet is meant to deliver a massive blow of nuclear retaliation. Israel has nuclear-capable aircraft as well, but Dolphins are the cornerstone of its nuclear deterrent.

So what does it mean when the most secretive nuclear nation in the world puts nuclear missiles on advanced submarines in one of the most volatile regions on Earth? And why is so little attention paid to such an unstable situation, considering the incredible stakes?

This is the story of Israel’s Dolphins – stealthy, strategic, and deliberately destabilizing.

Built in Germany, Modified in Israel

Dolphin-class submarines are Germany’s penance to Israel for the atrocities committed against Jews during WWII. They were not built in Haifa or Tel Aviv, but by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Kiel, Germany.

As part of a complex arrangement involving German reparations for the Holocaust, each submarine was partially or fully subsidized by the German government, thereby creating one of the most controversial arms supply agreements in modern history.

Dolphins are not nuclear-powered like most strategic nuclear submarines are. But their air-independent propulsion system allows them to stay submerged much longer than standard diesel submarines. It also makes them quiet enough to elude sophisticated sonars and patrol hostile waters undetected – a capability enhanced by sound-deadening materials coating their hulls and sophisticated electronic countermeasures masking magnetic and infrared signatures.

That Dolphins are nuclear-armed is more than just an educated guess. Intelligence agencies and open-source analysts also possess images showing torpedo tubes being modified and enlarged to fit Popeye Turbo cruise missiles. Those missiles may be nuclear-armed, and their 1,500-kilometer range makes officials in Moscow acutely aware they could be within striking distance of Dolphins in the North Aegean Sea near the fleet’s home base in Haifa.

Israel, of course, admits nothing. But it denies nothing either.

Undetected Sinkings

Perhaps the effectiveness of Dolphin-class submarines is best understood by considering a similar boat in Sweden’s Navy – the Gotland-class, diesel-electric submarine. At 200 feet in length, and every inch a deadly menace, Gotland-class submarines are carrier-killing machines.

During a series of war games in 2005, the US Navy went up against a Gotland and crew in a mock battle for would-be supremacy. During an eye-popping display of stealth technology, US warships were destroyed time and again, climaxing with multiple undetected ‘sinkings’ of America’s new supercarrier, the USS Ronald Regan.

Israel’s Dolphins share similar capabilities, and its newest subs boast fuel-cell technology – the absolute cream of stealth propulsion systems.

An Unclaimed Triad 

Some nuclear powers have established a nuclear triad – the ability to launch nuclear weapons from land, air, and sea. This ensures that a nuclear first strike cannot eliminate a country’s entire nuclear arsenal before retaliation is possible.

Many established nuclear weapons states, like the United States and Russia, have robust and declared nuclear triads. Yet Israel won’t even admit to having any nuclear weapons at all, let alone a sea-based nuclear deterrent.

But experts agree once again: Dolphin-class submarines are the sea-based leg of Israel’s nuclear triad. It’s a slick arrangement for Israel: It deters its enemies with nuclear weapons while avoiding diplomatic pressure for accountability.

But sometimes ambiguity can be dangerous. In a high-stakes crisis, false assumptions about Israel’s capabilities may lead to miscalculations of the kind that do not mix well with nuclear weapons.

Rooted In Survival

Israel sees the existence of its nuclear submarines as a doctrine rooted in survival. With its entire nation concentrated in a narrow strip of land surrounded by unfriendly neighbors with hostile intent, Israel has long feared that a massive coordinated strike might destroy it. Dolphins were built so their enemies would know that such a strike would not be the final word.

Quiet But Not Always Invisible

Reports have emerged in recent years of Dolphins surfacing in the Persian Gulf, the Suez Canal, and the Red Sea. Those sightings are deliberate and often coincide with rising tensions in the local area.

Israel’s submarine deployments are more than passive deterrence. They also serve as signaling tools with a clear message to adversaries: We are ready. We are watching. We can strike you anytime, from anywhere, with awesome power.

But what happens when other nations follow suit, as they eventually will? The precedent Israel is setting with Dolphins today resonates far beyond its borders and well into the future.

After all, other countries in the Middle East are already pursuing advanced military submarines. Egypt, Turkey, and even Iran have invested considerably in underwater capabilities. But no other regional state is believed to possess nuclear-armed submarines – yet.

The Legal Vacuum

Arms-control treaties do not limit nuclear weapons on submarines, and would not apply to Israel even if they did. The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) only establishes regulations for member states, of which Israel is not one. There is no international oversight of Israel’s nuclear activities. No inspections. No transparency of any kind.

Dealing with such an extreme lack of visibility presents unique legal and logistical barriers to global nuclear disarmament efforts. Minimal transparency must be part of arms control agreements if they are to be effective.

The Unavoidable Rule

The rise of nuclear-armed submarines represents a shift in how deterrence is practiced. Once marked by high-visibility missile parades and nuclear bomb tests, strategic posturing is gradually becoming silent, secretive, and submerged.

Putting weapons beneath the sea has some advantages, but it doesn’t make them safer. The unavoidable rule that accidents eventually strike all complex systems applies to nuclear submarines as well. Besides, everyone knows the more complex a system is, the more things can go wrong. 

And submarines are invisible when submerged. Their missiles seem to appear from nowhere. Imagine the anger and confusion if a malfunction – or a deliberate act of sabotage – sent a nuke into a city completely by surprise. Hostile intent would be assumed. Of all the things that might follow, none would be good.

The Path Forward

At the Our Planet Project Foundation, we believe deterring nuclear weapons with more nuclear weapons is not a rational answer.

Israel’s Dolphins may seem like a logical response to a genuine threat, but in a larger sense are just part of a global shift toward submerged, unaccountable, and increasingly autonomous systems of mass destruction – a trend that only a massive advantage of motivated voters can overcome.