Donald Trump Should Halt Israel's New Submarine Program

Dov S. Zakheim

Security, Middle East

Support for Israel shouldn't mean a blank check.

Thirty years ago, I led a joint Department of Defense/Israeli Navy (IN) team that evaluated Israel’s naval modernization program. Our agreed conclusion was that its two components, surface corvettes and submarines, both deserved American support. We recommended to both Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and Minister of Defense Yitzhak Rabin that the corvettes be built in the United States, while Israel be permitted to use offshore procurement funds to acquire German-built submarines. Both ship types were to be built to Israeli specifications and equipped with Israeli systems. Secretary Weinberger agreed with our conclusions, as did Minister Rabin.

Within seven years Israel had launched its first Saar 5 corvette, and, bolstered by German financing, had begun the program that resulted in Israel’s acquisition of three submarines, named the Dolphin class. In 2006, Israel acquired three more upgraded versions of the Dolphin sub from Germany. The first of the three was commissioned in 2014, another earlier this year, and a third will be commissioned in 2018. The Israeli press has reported that these submarines carry nuclear-tipped missiles; as such, they would constitute a powerful deterrent to Iran or any other nation threatening the security, indeed the existence, of the Jewish State.

Israel’s procurement of these submarines has partially been funded by Germany. The remaining costs borne by Israel have in effect been subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer by virtue of the Offshore Procurement (OSP) program. This program, virtually unique to Israel, allows it to apply American foreign military assistance funding to projects of its own. Since money is fungible, the OSP funds offer Israel considerable flexibility in budget management, and enable its programmers and budgeteers to reallocate funds in order to free up resources for foreign purchases.

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