Germany to deliver 2 submarines to Israel capable of carrying nukewarheads

Germany to deliver 2 submarines to Israel capable of carrying nuke
warheads

September 9, 2004 - Payvand's Iran News ...

http://www.payvand.com/news/04/sep/1076.html


German Defense Minister Peter Struck has finally given green light for the
delivery of two submarines to Israel which are also capable of carrying
nuclear warheads, IRNA reported from Berlin.

<snip>

Berlin halted unexpectedly last November the delivery of two German-made
'Dolphin' submarines to Israel, citing fears of a new arms race in the
Mideast region.

<snip>

Although Berlin is legally banned from exporting arms to crisis regions,
Germany has become one of Israel's major arms supplier.

German arms exports to Israel reached some 900 million dollars between
1998 and 2001.

Anything that increases the survivability of Israel's
nuclear deterrent also increases the stability of the
region. The present situation is very dangerous and hair
trigger when it comes to nuclear deterrence. Israel is
better off with no deterrent than with one that is not
clearly survivable.

I would not be surprised if the decision to go ahead with
this is related to the nuclear developments in Iran, Pakistan,
or even N. Korea.

It is a good development, and doubtless related to the impending nuclear acquisitions of Iran. For all the bluster current on the matter, it does not seem feasible to me to prevent the Iranian developments militarily, and so they must be countered in some other way.

a tad bit ironic, isn't it?

sounds like a misunderstanding on the part of the news agency, or else deliberate misinformation designed to give worry to the enemies of Israel.

These submarines carry sixteen Harpoon missiles, which are anti-ship weapons, and are not designed to carry a nuclear payload. They can be modified to do so, at the cost of range and performance; due to the density of the fissionable material (either plutonium or enriched uranium), a nuclear warhead's weight would be approximately twice that of a conventional one. Also, due to dimensional constraints imposed by the design of the missile, Israel would be unable to augment its strategic nuclear posture by use of submarine-based missiles; however, the presence of a number of submarine-based tactical nuclear weapons of moderate yield in the Israeli arsenal (or suspicion that such weapons exist) may prove an effective deterrent.