Israel delivers first autonomous submarine to Germany

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.

耶路撒冷——以色列航空航天工业公司（IAI）于2月25日宣布，该公司已向德国海军交付了一艘“蓝鲸”自主潜艇。

这艘潜艇是以色列国防公司研发的第一艘无人潜艇。它是该公司与德国TKMS公司旗下子公司Atlas的合资产品，TKMS公司是以色列海军潜艇舰队的制造商。

在德国海军于波罗的海进行的一系列测试之后，一架蓝鲸机器人在德国埃克恩弗尔德海军基地举行了交付仪式。

相关各方均未具体说明德国海军最终将获得多少艘舰艇，也未说明交易的范围。

IAI 于 2024 年 11 月底报告称，德国海军已完成对新型无人机的测试，这是“海军 2035+”计划的一部分，该计划是一项旨在快速测试和采用新技术的军方倡议，以适应真实世界的条件。

“蓝鲸”无人潜艇水下航速为7节，以色列公司称，根据任务的不同，该潜艇可连续运行2-3周。它配备了水面和水下传感器，可装入40英尺的集装箱，通过陆路、空运或海运运输。

IAI-TKMS 联合发布的公告指出，该舰艇的设想任务包括无人反潜作战和秘密海上行动。

声明称：“该载具能够执行侦察任务，探测海面上下目标，收集声学信息，并定位海底水雷。它可作为有人平台的延伸传感器臂。”

以色列方面认为，出售“蓝鲸”导弹防御系统是深化与德国防务合作的一步，与此同时，以色列还从德国获得了“箭3”防空系统，这是以色列有史以来最大的国防交易。

在海事领域，以色列多年来一直依赖 TKMS 公司，该公司供应海豚 AIP 潜艇和萨尔 6 型舰艇。

大约四年后，这家德国公司计划开始交付 2022 年订购的三艘德克尔级潜艇。

特扎利·格林伯格是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。他拥有丰富的经济事务以及国防和网络安全公司报道经验。