The INS Rahav is on schedule to arrive in Haifa on Tuesday.
It’s the fifth of Israel’s fleet of Dolphin-class submarines.
Rahav, ordered in 2005, left the German port of Kiel in December, with a special sendoff from Israel Navy Commander Admiral Ram Rothberg.
The Rahav was unveiled by its builder, the German Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipbuilding company in April 2013, but then required more work to become fully operational.
It is more than 67 meters (220 feet) long and weighs more than 2,000 tons. The submarine can hold a crew of approximately 50, according to the Israel Navy.
The diesel-powered vessel features an air-independent propulsion system operating through a fuel cell instead of using oxygen-dependent sources. This allows the submarine to stasy underwater for longer periods – potentially weeks at a time, according to navy officials.
The Dolphin-class sub was to be greeted upon arrival by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot and Admiral Rothberg.
The officials are expected to join in a ceremonial flotilla of warships and water craft celebrating the submarine’s arrival. Rahav becomes part of the new naval fleet with the Dolphin, Leviathan, Tekuma and Tanin at the Haifa Naval Base.