Navy chief Maj. Gen. Eli Sharvit announced on Wednesday that the Israeli Navy’s newest submarine, which is to be delivered at the beginning of 2020, will be named the INS Dragon, instead of Dakar as was originally proposed.

The change of the name was decided after protestations by some of the families of the fallen sailors who perished on the INS Dakar, the British-manufactured submarine that sunk in 1968 en route to Israel. The Dakar’s location remained unknown for many years until it was discovered and its wreckage recovered in 1999.

The name Dragon ( Drakon in Hebrew ) uses all the letters of the spelling Dakar, thus preserving its memory.

The INS Dragon is the sixth submarine acquired from Germany to join the Israeli naval arsenal.

The submarine, which is still under construction in Kiel, will be the prototype for the next generation of submarines, the most advanced model in the Navy’s service in the coming decades.

“The submarine’s fighters preserve our security’s stability day and night, with impeccable professionalism, sophistication, dedication, and constant thinking,” Sharvit stated.

“Their activity on Israel’s submarines of the future will provide a unique and strategic operational angle, absolutely vital for the defense of the State of Israel,” he added.

The German government approved Israel’s purchase of additional submarines in October 2017.

The deal, valued at $2 billion, includes significant financial support from the German government.

This latest step is another in a seven-year joint submarine project between Israel and Germany.