German Navy Receives Israel-developed Unmanned Submarine For Covert Missions

German firm, TKMS and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced today the delivery of the BlueWhale large autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to the German Navy.

BlueWhale is a first of its kind fully autonomous large underwater vehicle that combines reconnaissance, sensor technology, and data fusion in a single system, TKMS said in a release.

BlueWhale was developed to support the German Navy in unmanned antisubmarine warfare and covert maritime missions.

It was Developed by IAI while TKMS and its ATLAS ELEKTRONIK segment integrated the anti-submarine warfare towed sonar.

Boaz Levy, CEO and President of IAI, explains: "The delivery of the BlueWhale to the German Navy, demonstrates the close cooperation we have with TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK and the degree of mutual trust between Israel and Germany.”

The vehicle is capable of conducting reconnaissance operations, detecting targets above and below the sea surface, collecting acoustic information, and locating sea mines on the seabed. The delivery of BlueWhale follows intensive testing in the Baltic Sea, one of the most demanding and complex areas of operation for the German Navy.

BlueWhale acts as an extended sensor arm for manned platforms, operating autonomously over long periods of time and covering large areas of sea.