An extended arm underwater

Whether it’s preventing acts of sabotage at sea, stopping blockades of important trade routes, or protecting coastlines and supply routes, the tasks of military and security forces concerning oceans and waterways are increasingly in focus. A central element of modern operational concepts is unmanned systems. The German Navy is now set to use the Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (UUV) BlueWhale developed by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Admittedly, the new underwater vehicle of the German Navy does not reach the dimensions of its namesake. Adult blue whales can weigh up to 200 tons, while the UUV BlueWhale measures 10.9 meters in length, 1.12 meters in diameter, and weighs 5.5 tons—quite modest by comparison. Nevertheless, the UUV BlueWhale is the largest and most modern unmanned underwater vehicle in the German naval forces. It was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a global leader in aerospace and defense systems. The anti-submarine warfare towed sonar was integrated at Atlas Elektronik, a part of Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).

Covert maritime missions

The Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle is capable of conducting reconnaissance operations, detecting targets above and below the water’s surface, collecting acoustic information, and locating naval mines on the seabed. In this way, the unmanned system can support naval forces, such as the German Navy, in anti-submarine warfare and covert maritime missions. It can function as an extended sensor arm for manned platforms, operate autonomously for long periods, and cover large maritime areas.

In Eckernförde, the first BlueWhale UUV was handed over (from left): Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack (Inspector of the Navy), Boaz Levy (CEO and President of IAI), and Michael Ozegowski (Executive Vice President of TKMS ATLAS Elektronik) (Photo: Bundeswehr/Stamm)