German Navy Tests First-of-its-Kind Unmanned Underwater Drone In Baltic Sea

The German Navy has tested the first of its kind unmanned underwater drone, BlueWhale, in the Baltic Sea, a region with high naval traffic and important undersea infrastructure.

The two-week trial was focused on exploring the drone as a potential tool for anti-submarine warfare.

The BlueWhale, made by Israel Aerospace Industries, is equipped with cameras and sensors to detect submarines, surface ships, and sea mines.

Its most important feature is its ability to track these targets without emitting any signals that would alert them to its presence, something that only manned submarines can do at the moment.

The BlueWhale drone weighs 5.5 tons, is almost 11 meters long, and has a diameter of over 1 meter. It falls into the category of large unmanned underwater vehicles.

The trial was a part of Germany’s broader plan, called “Marine 2035+” to develop unmanned technology for naval defence.

Video Credits: ELTA Systems Ltd/YouTube

Atlas Elektronik, a naval systems company, helped with the test. The Navy also tested how the BlueWhale could fit into NATO’s naval operations.

Dror Bar, Vice President of IAI and CEO of its subsidiary ELTA Systems mentioned that the trial used interfaces developed last year for NATO exercises.

BlueWhale is fully electric and can operate for 2-4 weeks. It is designed to perform several tasks, including anti-submarine warfare, bottom surveying, mine detection and surface intelligence gathering.

The drone can dive deep into the water, where submarines often hide to avoid detection, using its towed sonar array. This ability could save money and provide more flexible options compared to using large, expensive manned submarines.

Germany’s Navy is aware that unmanned systems are changing naval operations, and they are eager to quickly integrate these technologies into their forces.

An officer involved in the test said the Navy needs to speed up the adoption of these new technologies to stay ahead in naval warfare.

Reference: Defense News