⚓ INS DRAKON SIGNALS EXPANDING NAVAL REACH; IDF TO ESTABLISH AI AND UNMANNED SYSTEMS BRANCH: IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said at the graduation of Naval Officers Course 153 that INS Drakon, Israel’s sixth submarine, is sailing from Germany to Israel, describing it as a symbol of the Navy’s transformation into a strategic arm capable of operating across the Middle East and beyond.
Under the IDF’s coming multi-year “Hoshen” plan, greater emphasis will be placed on the maritime arena. Drakon will be followed by additional capabilities, including Reshef-class missile ships designed for greater range, endurance and firepower.
Zamir also announced the establishment of a new IDF Unmanned Systems and Artificial Intelligence Branch, planned to be inaugurated around Hanukkah in early December. The branch will develop maritime, ground and aerial robotic systems capable of operating alongside manned forces or independently. Zamir said the IDF intends to become a global leader in the field, while the Navy will receive advanced autonomous capabilities operating above and below the sea.
Reviewing the broader war, Zamir said the IDF had fundamentally changed its security doctrine: “There is no containment. There is initiative to remove threats before they materialize.” He said the Navy played a decisive role across multiple fronts, including Bab el-Mandeb, Beirut, Lebanese ports and off Gaza, while Israel increasingly requires naval forces to protect maritime trade routes and operate overtly and covertly far from its shores.
Zamir described the IDF’s achievements as a “historic military victory,” saying Israel had removed invasion threats, damaged enemy missile and rocket-launch capabilities and struck Iran’s nuclear program. He stressed, however, that Iran and the wider axis have been weakened but have not disappeared, warning that shipping lanes remain threatened and that the struggle for maritime superiority “does not stop for a moment.”
Navy chief Vice Adm. Eyal Harel similarly warned that “there is no longer any distant front,” saying distance would provide no immunity to anyone seeking to harm Israel. Addressing those seeking to “change the balance of power in the Mediterranean and Red seas,” Harel said Israel is monitoring and preparing for such developments and would not accept threats to its freedom of action or strategic maritime interests. “We will be there, and everywhere else, openly and covertly,” he said.
Ahead of the Tishrei holidays, Zamir also recalled what he called the “failure of Simchat Torah, October 7,” stressing that Israel’s military achievements came at a heavy cost in fallen and wounded personnel. He urged the graduating officers to keep political and public divisions outside the IDF and emphasized a unified military chain of command and responsibility to the country.
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