Israel's Newest Submarine, INS Drakon, Size Estimate

Since it was rolled out of the shed last week, Israel's latest submarine, INS Drakon, has been challenging analysts to make sense of it. The submarine features an unusually large sail. That is most likely to accommodate new missiles in vertical launch tubes. Less obvious, is that the hull is also much larger than the preceding Dolphin-II boats.

Analysis of photographs suggests that the submarine's length has been increased from 68.2 meters to 74 meters. Other aspects, such as hull diameter and casing remain unchanged.

Length:
Dolphin-I (boats 1, 2 & 3): 57.3 m (188 ft)
Dolphin-II (boats 4 & 5): 68.6 m (225 ft)
INS Drakon (boat 6): 74 m (243 ft) estimated

What is more, it appears, based on the location of the hatches, that the increased length has been added amidships. This places it beneath the sail, supporting the interpretation that the enlarged sail is to accommodate missiles.

CLICK to Enlarge.

This also supports the previous analysis of the next submarines, the Dakar class. That too will feature the enlarged sail, implying the same missiles.

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