HAIFA (VINnews) — Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Thursday that the military continues to watch Iran and its regional proxies, even as the Navy formally marked the arrival of its sixth submarine, INS Drakon.

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Speaking at a ceremony for the German-built vessel, Zamir said Israel’s attention has not shifted. “Even these days, our eyes remain open to what is happening in Iran and among its proxies,” he said. “The Iranian regime is wounded and battered but has failed to change its intentions.”

The arrival of INS Drakon, whose name means “Dragon,” completes Israel’s Dolphin-class air-independent propulsion program. The submarine left the Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems shipyard in Kiel, Germany, earlier this month after a multiyear construction and testing process and reached Israeli waters this week.

Zamir said the new boat strengthens Israel’s reach at sea. With Drakon in the fleet, he said, the Navy has “an improved maritime posture and new heights in its capabilities and operational strength: More covert, farther-reaching, deeper, and more lethal.”

Defense officials describe Drakon as larger and more capable than earlier Israeli submarines. The vessel is more than 70 meters long and uses an air-independent propulsion system that allows it to stay submerged for extended periods. The Navy says Israeli systems still must be installed before the boat becomes fully operational, a process expected to take about two months.

The German-built submarine is the sixth in Israel’s fleet and the third of the upgraded Dolphin II series. It is also seen as a bridge to three larger Dakar-class submarines now under construction in Germany.

Navy officials have said the fleet’s missions have expanded since Oct. 7, 2023, including long-range intelligence gathering and operations far from Israel’s coast. Zamir has directed the Navy to develop as a strategic arm able to operate in distant theaters alongside the Air Force.

Iran has not issued an immediate public response to Zamir’s remarks. Israeli officials have repeatedly said Tehran remains the central sponsor of groups that threaten Israel, even after recent military setbacks.

The Haifa ceremony closed a program that began more than a decade ago and underscored the Navy’s push for greater endurance, stealth and firepower as regional maritime threats persist.