Article Posted on : - Mar 22, 2012

An IDF photo

JERUSALEM (BNS): Israel has signed a deal with Germany to acquire another Dolphin-class submarine for its Navy.

The deal was inked between Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and secretary of state of the German Federal Defence Ministry, Wolf Rudiger, on March 21, the Israeli Defence Ministry said, without disclosing any price details of the contract.

The new vessel will be the sixth Dolphin-class submarine for the Israeli Navy.

The Navy at present operates three Dolphin-class submarines and two more such vessels, ordered in 2006, are in different stages of development at a shipyard in Germany and are likely to be inducted between 2012 and 2013.

"The sixth submarine multiplies the force and capability of the IDF and the State of Israel in the face of the growing challenges. The agreement indicates out cooperation with Germany and the German government's obligation to the security of Israel," Defence Minister Ehud Barak said.

Negotiation for the latest deal had been going on for quite some time between the two countries, but it was delayed over price issues.