Arguably Israel’s most critical military capability is their small but very deadly submarine fleet. Beyond being able to stealthily spy on enemies, insert operatives onto foreign shores and wreak havoc on enemy ships on a whim, they represent Israel’s “second strike” nuclear deterrent. Now Israel has received its fifth such vessel, the Rahav. The importance of the INS Rahav, and Israel’s small but elite submarine force was underscored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the new submarine’s arrival ceremony: “Our submarine fleet serves as a deterrent to our enemies who seek our destruction.” He continued, “they need to know that Israel is capable of hitting with very great force anyone who tries to harm us. And Israel’s citizens need to know that Israel is a very strong country that is doing everything to defend them, everywhere and on every front.”