JERUSALEM — Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has delivered a “BlueWhale” autonomous submarine to the German Navy, the company announced Feb. 25.
The vessel is the first unmanned submarine developed by an Israeli defense company. It is the product of a joint venture with Atlas, a subsidiary of Germany’s TKMS, the manufacturer behind the Israeli Navy’s submarine fleet.
A BlueWhale was delivered in a ceremony held at the German naval base in Eckernförde after a series of tests carried out by the German Navy in the Baltic Sea.
None of the parties involved specified the number of vessels the German sea service eventually stands to get, or the scope of the deal.
IAI reported at the end of November 2024 that the German Navy had completed testing the new drone as part of the “Navy 2035+” program, which is a service initiative for rapidly testing and adopting new technologies under real-world conditions.
The BlueWhale travels at 7 knots underwater, and the Israeli company states that the unmanned submarine can sustain continuous operation of 2-3 weeks depending on the mission profile. It is equipped with surface and sub-surface sensors and can be transportable by land, air or sea in a 40-foot shipping container.
The joint IAI-TKMS announcement notes that the vessel’s envisioned missions include unmanned anti-submarine warfare and covert maritime operations.
“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 statement reads. “It acts as an extended sensor arm for manned platforms.”
The sale of the BlueWhale is seen in Israel as a step toward deepening defense cooperation with Germany amid the supply of the Arrow 3 air defense system, also made by IAI, Israel’s largest defense deal ever.
In the maritime sector, Israel has relied for years on TKMS, which supplies Dolphin AIP submarines and Sa’ar 6 ships.
In about four years, the German company is scheduled to begin delivering three Decker-class submarines ordered in 2022.
Tzally Greenberg is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has experience reporting on economic affairs as well as defense and cyber companies.
