On Friday afternoon, a march temporarily stopped at the crossroads leading to the town of Asdod in southern Israel — the second most important port in the country — to allow the motorcade of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to pass as it headed towards the largest Israeli naval base located south of the port. Netanyahu, accompanied by Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, came to inspect the fifth Dolphin submarine that joined the country's navy two weeks ago, something Israel views as a key “strategic asset” boosting Israel's military and deterrence power. Over the past three years, Israel has taken important and quick strides to strengthen the capabilities of its naval forces, based on conclusions it reached in the wake of democratic transformation revolutions that swept the Arab world. Israel now owns five advanced German-made Dolphin submarines, with a sixth under construction. All these submarines are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. According to Amir Bohbot, military commentator on the Israeli news website Walla, Israel has become a formidable military force on the world stage because of its naval capabilities. Nowhere in the world is there a political entity of eight million people that owns six strategic submarines. As well as these submarines, the Israeli Navy has also purchased more advanced missile ships that not only patrol Israel's coastline, but also other areas in the region. General Udi Shani, director-general of Israel's Ministry of Defence, highlights another scope of interest for the navy, namely developing high precision and sensitive technology used in weapons systems for the navy. This increases the burden on the Ministry of Defence and state-owned company Rafael, in charge of producing advanced military systems. A crucial system acquired by the navy is an alarm system located at several naval bases that sends an alert when any object penetrates regional waters, which prevents any type of infiltration of Israel's regional arena. For many decades, the navy had the smallest share in the military budget compared to other branches of the army, especially in comparison to the air force. Former National Security Council Chairman Uzi Arad played a key role in convincing Netanyahu to increase investments in the navy. Another incentive was a decision by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discount one third of the $340 million price tag per submarine for Israel. As well as Arad, former Defence Minister Ehud Barak also played a key role in convincing the government to invest in the navy, because growing threats from geographically distant locations require it. Israelis believe the change of heart about the importance of the navy among decision-makers is similar to revisions in the US during the 1960s, when Washington was until then focussed on the air force. Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara changed this after he realised the importance of investing in naval force to boost the country's deterrence capabilities. Leading think tanks in Israel used the Arab Spring as a pretext to urge Tel Aviv to pay more attention on the navy specifically. A notable study by professor Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, called on the Israeli government to show more interest in the navy under the assumption that Arab revolutions represent a serious risk to Israel's foreign trade. Inbar noted that 90 per cent of Israel's overseas trade travels by sea. Like others responsible for providing strategic assessments for the Hebrew state, Inbar believes the sea routes of Israeli ships have become too dangerous in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, because there is a higher risk of ships being targeted while crossing these waterways. He said strategists in Israel agree with him that the four most important waterways in the world are under Arab and Islamic control, and have become high risk. These include the Suez Canal, Bab Al-Mandeb Straits, the Straits of Hormuz, and the Bosporus Straits. Inbar believes that “jihadist groups” or organisations affiliated to enemy states could target these waterways as Israeli ships sail by. Ronnie Daniel, defence commentator for Israeli television's Channel 2, said the vast gas fields that Israel has discovered under the sea northwest of Haifa require stepping up naval patrols there, especially since they are located relatively far apart. According to Daniel, decision-makers in Tel Aviv believe there is a possibility of Hizbullah or other groups targeting gas fields in response to hostile action by Israel against them. This would result in serious economic losses for Israel. The most important justification for boosting naval power, however, is that decision-makers realise the acquisition of strategic submarines especially gives Israel the advantage of a second nuclear strike if it comes under nuclear attack in response to a first attack it made against a certain target. Retired General Rofin Pidhestor, who is a researcher in strategic affairs, notes that the submarines owned by Israel can carry nuclear warheads, and that deploying them in mid-sea gives them broad and open operational manoeuvrability. According to him, these submarines can be deployed near an enemy state as soon as a military conflict erupts, and launch nuclear attacks against it if Israel is attacked. Using submarines reduces the need to resort to the air force in strikes, since reaching the airspace of the target country could require flying over countries that may not allow this. There is also the possibility that Israel's ability to deploy jet fighters after a nuclear attack would be reduced. Meanwhile, the capability of launching long-range missiles that carry nuclear warheads from stationary bases inside Israel could also be reduced if they are targeted in response to any attack Israel undertook. There are other reasons that add to the value of submarines in Israel's military and security effort. Military commentators believe the ability of operating covertly and stealthily increases Israel's deterrence power, especially when confronting geographically distant enemies, especially Iran, since submarines can operate very far from Israel's border and under water for several weeks. They can also gather intelligence. At the same time, submarines can contribute to an electronic war, in passing over sea-based communication lines. Naval commanders in Israel acknowledge that the Dolphin submarines a key tool in magnifying Israel's military capabilities on a strategic level. They believe enemy states would know the meaning of this and would be more cautious about upsetting the existing balance of power. The Walla website reported Netanyahu takes a personal interest in briefings about secret operations by these submarines. Israel is not only thinking of Iran when it considers boosting its naval capabilities, but also Egypt. Amir Rapaport, a military commentator, quoted sources in the Israeli Army's General Staff as saying that although there is a peace agreement with Egypt, it is important that Egypt knows it is far behind Israel in terms of naval capabilities. Israel believes that deteriorating economic conditions in Egypt limit President Mohamed Morsi's ability to focus on boosting military capabilities, especially at sea.
