From the outset, Israel has faced threats of complete annihilation.
It had to engage in several wars that were imposed on it.
Since, the 1950s to the present day, Israel has taken many steps to protect itself and
is now considered to be one of the most powerful countries in the world.
Israel is widely believed to have been the 6th country in the world to develop nuclear
weapons.
It is reported that Israel had "rudimentary, but deliverable," nuclear weapons available
as early as 1967.
The most important weapons platform of Israel today is the Dolphin class submarines designed
for nuke delivery.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why because of one weapon no enemy’s of Israel
can touch it?
Let’s get started.
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Israel is not a party to the NPT or Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel engages in strategic ambiguity, saying it would not be the first country to "introduce"
nuclear weapons into the region, but refusing to otherwise confirm or deny a nuclear weapons
program or arsenal.
This policy of "nuclear opacity" has been interpreted as an attempt to get the benefits
of deterrence with a minimum political cost.
In 1968, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Yitzhak Rabin, affirmed to the United
States State Department that Israel would "not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons
into the Middle East."
Upon further questioning about what "introduce" meant in this context, however, he said that
"he would not consider a weapon that had not been tested a weapon," and affirmed that he
did not believe that "an unadvertised, untested nuclear device" was really "a nuclear weapon.”
There is extensive evidence Israel has nuclear weapons or a near-ready nuclear weapons capability.
There is also speculation that Israel may have tested a nuclear weapon along with South
Africa in 1979, but this has not been confirmed, and interpretation of the Vela Incident is
controversial.
The Vela Incident, also known as the South Atlantic Flash, was an unidentified "double
flash" of light detected by an American Vela Hotel satellite on September 22, 1979, near
the Prince Edward Islands off Antarctica, which many believe was of nuclear origin.
The most widespread theory among those who believe the flash was of nuclear origin is
that it resulted from a joint South African and Israeli nuclear test.
The topic remains highly disputed and most of the information about the event remains
classified.
In 1986, a former Dimona technician, Mordechai Vanunu, disclosed extensive information about
the nuclear program to the British press, including photographs of the secret areas
of the nuclear site, some of which depicted nuclear weapons cores and designs.
Vanunu gave detailed descriptions of lithium-6 separation required for the production of
tritium, an essential ingredient of fusion-boosted fission bombs, as well as information about
the rate of plutonium production.
Vanunu's evidence was vetted by experienced technical experts before publication and is
considered to be among the strongest evidence for the advanced state of the Israeli nuclear
weapons program.
On the 12th of February 2015, the Pentagon declassified a top-secret 386-page Department
of Defense document from 1987 detailing Israel's nuclear program.
This represents the first time Israel’s nuclear program has ever been officially and
publicly referenced by the U.S. authorities.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute or SIPRI estimates that Israel has
approximately 80 (lower end estimate) intact nuclear weapons,
of which 50 are for delivery by Jericho II medium-range
ballistic missiles and 30 are gravity bombs for delivery by aircraft.
The exact numbers are disputed, but most defense observers believe that its in the range of
80-120
SIPRI also reports that there was renewed speculation in 2012 that Israel may also have
developed nuclear-capable submarine-launched cruise missiles.
This means Israel has functional nuclear tried- the ability to deliver nukes from Land, Air
& Sea.
For the Sea-based delivery, Ballistic missile submarines are the go-to option.
Ballistic missile submarines are generally nuclear powered and carry long-range nuclear-tipped
missiles also known as SLBM or Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile.
Nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines are considered to be the most potent weapon
developed by mankind and they are the most survivable part of the nuclear triad.
There are reasons for it.
A surprise preemptive strike might wipe out a country’s land-based missiles and nuclear
bombers, but it’s very difficult to track and take out a ballistic-missile submarine
patrolling quietly in the depths of the ocean.
Since they can’t be taken out by ‘first strike’ and can retaliate against an enemy
with SLBMs, no sane adversary will attack a country that possesses a Nuclear Powered
Ballistic missile submarines armed with SLBMs.
Nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines are very complex and costly to develop and
maintain.
This is why the US, Russia, UK, France, China, and India are currently the only countries
to field a nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine.
Israel has taken a different approach to field it's sea-based “second-strike capability”
and is using the German build Dolphin Class conventional submarine for this purpose.
The first three submarines were authorized in 1988.
Dolphin, Leviathan and Tekuma, were laid down in the early 1990s and entered service between
1999 and 2000.
The submarines are 187 feet long, displace 1,720 tons submerged and have an operating
depth of 1,148 feet.
Each of these subs has 10 torpedo tubes in the bow - 6 standard 533 mm tubes and 4 larger
650 mm torpedoes tubes.
The larger torpedo tubes are more than two feet wide and these tubes are reportedly being
used to deploy long-range nuclear-tipped missiles.
It is to be noted that a second set of Dolphin submarines, Dolphin II, was ordered in the
mid-2000s.
Dolphin II is an incremental upgrade of original Dolphin and the main difference is the inclusion
of the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system.
AIP allows the subs of this class to operate underwater for longer periods of time and
some reports suggest that Dolphin II can stay submerged up to 18 days at a time.
In 2000, the U.S. Navy observed a missile launch from off the coast of Sri Lanka that
traveled an estimated 932 miles or around 1500 km.
The missile was speculated to be an upgraded Popeye missile.
Popeye was originally an air-launched ground-attack missile.
It was developed in 1985 and was capable of delivering 750 lb or 340 kg warhead to ranges
of up to 45 miles or 78 km
It is interesting to note that the United States Air Force bought 154 Popeye missiles
to arm B-52 bombers for conventional attacks, renaming them the AGM-142 Raptor.
The Popeye is powered by a single-stage solid rocket.
The 2000 test is thought to be of Popeye Turbo which is powered by a turbofan engine so that
it can travel for long distances.
But some accounts dispute this and point to Gabriel anti-ship missile.
Though the exact nature of the weapon is not clear, there is a consensus among strategic
analysts that Israel has deployed long-range nuclear-tipped land-attack missiles from is
Dolphin class submarines.
Israel is acquiring a second set of 3 Dolphin II submarines.
These will replace the 3 original Dolphin subs, so essential Israel will have 6 Dolphin
II subs.
This means that Israel’s sea-based nuclear deterrent will be active for the foreseeable
future and its second-strike capability will be intact.
So, traditional Middle East rivals of Israel are in the strike range of Israel’s sea-based
nukes.
Any of these counties trying to attack Israel with a preemptive strike will have to face
nuclear retaliation.
So, it can be said that it will be a suicidal step for Israel’s rival if they decide to
wage a war against it.