The Baltic’s New Ghost: How Germany’s AI ‘BlueWhale’ is Hunting Submarines Without a Crew – Quwa

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), in cooperation with ThyssenKrupp Marine Methods’ (TKMS) subsidiary Atlas Elektronik, delivered the primary BlueWhale autonomous underwater automobile (AUV) to the German Navy on 25 February 2026 on the Eckernförde naval base close to Kiel.

The handover – which was attended by German Defence Ministry State Secretary Jens Plötner and Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, the Inspector of the German Navy – marks the primary worldwide sale of the Israeli-developed giant unmanned underwater automobile (LUUV). The deal is valued at tens of tens of millions of euros.

Developed by IAI’s ELTA division, the BlueWhale is a 5.5-ton, 10.9-metre-long totally autonomous underwater automobile able to diving to 300 metres and working at a most submerged pace of seven knots. Relying on battery configuration and mission profile, the automobile can stay at sea for 2 to 3 weeks.

Sensor Suite and Mission Profile

The BlueWhale carries a multi-domain sensor bundle. Its patented retractable telescopic mast integrates radar, day/evening electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) cameras, indicators intelligence (SIGINT) tools, and satellite tv for pc communications (SATCOM) for real-time knowledge transmission.

Under the floor, the automobile employs a towed array sonar (TAS) developed by Atlas Elektronik for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), a flank array sonar (FAS) for detecting ships and submarines, and an artificial aperture sonar (SAS) – provided by Canada’s Kraken – for high-resolution seabed imaging and mine detection. The onboard mission laptop processes acoustic knowledge utilizing synthetic intelligence (AI) algorithms and requires simply two operators through a human-machine interface (HMI).

The BlueWhale is thus configured for unmanned ASW, covert maritime intelligence assortment, acoustic intelligence (ACINT), mine countermeasures (MCM), and the monitoring of hybrid threats in congested littoral zones such because the Baltic Sea.

Germany’s Kurs Marine 2035+ and the LUUV Requirement

The supply falls underneath the German Navy’s Kurs Marine 2035+ modernisation programme, which centres on the speedy adoption of unmanned programs and network-centric warfare. The Zielbild Marine 2035+ plan – an amplified model of the unique 2023 framework – requires 12 or extra LUUVs by 2035, double the quantity initially envisaged.

Germany’s curiosity in giant autonomous underwater platforms is pushed by the Baltic Sea’s deteriorating safety setting. NATO, Russian, and Chinese language naval vessels routinely function within the shallow physique of water, whereas not less than 11 subsea communications cables and vitality pipelines have been broken within the area since October 2023 – a number of in suspected acts of sabotage linked to Russian shadow fleet vessels and Chinese language-flagged ships dragging anchors. NATO launched Baltic Sentry in January 2025, deploying frigates, patrol plane, and naval drones to strengthen subsea infrastructure safety, whereas the EU launched an Motion Plan on Cable Safety the next month.

The BlueWhale’s means to passively monitor submarines with out emitting detectable indicators addresses a functionality that was beforehand accessible solely by means of manned submarines. As Quwa’s evaluation of ASW dynamics has noticed, discovering and monitoring even a single submarine in open waters is a resource-intensive train – the ocean is inherently noisy, and imposing an efficient ASW presence requires a big selection of property working in live performance.

Persistent, low-signature autonomous platforms just like the BlueWhale might assist offset these structural challenges by sustaining a steady acoustic presence in designated areas.

The German Navy performed a two-week operational analysis of the BlueWhale within the Baltic Sea in November 2024 underneath the Bundeswehr’s Operational Experimentation (OPEX) programme, coordinated between IAI, Atlas Elektronik, and the Bundeswehr Technical Centre for Ships and Naval Weapons (WTD 71). The trials assessed passive submarine monitoring and sensor integration inside Germany’s current naval structure. The system had earlier participated in NATO’s REPMUS and Dynamic Messenger workouts in Portugal in 2023, the place interfaces for alliance interoperability had been developed with Atlas Elektronik.

TKMS has framed the BlueWhale as an ‘prolonged sensor arm’ for manned platforms, describing its potential integration into the German Navy’s general community as a part of a broader shift in the direction of a hybrid fleet combining manned submarines – such because the U212 CD class – with autonomous programs.

In idea, this mirrors the trajectory seen in programmes like Anduril’s Copperhead AUV household, the place smaller AUVs are deployed from bigger unmanned motherships to generate distributed maritime results – although Germany’s strategy seems targeted on utilizing LUUVs as the first ISR and ASW nodes fairly than as carriers for sub-munitions.

Deepening Israel-Germany Defence Ties and Export Prospects

The procurement reverses the normal course of Israel-Germany defence commerce. Israel has traditionally been the customer on this relationship, having acquired six Dolphin-class submarines from Germany at a value of billions of euros. Germany’s buy of the BlueWhale – alongside the practically €4 billion Arrow 3 missile defence contract signed in September 2024 – indicators a structural shift during which Berlin is now drawing on Israeli defence expertise for its personal modernisation.

IAI CEO Boaz Levy highlighted the mutual belief between the 2 nations, noting that the supply demonstrated the shut cooperation between IAI and TKMS Atlas Elektronik. He additionally emphasised the system’s function in power multiplication with out risking personnel.

Greece has emerged as the following probably buyer. On the DEFEA 2025 exhibition in Athens, IAI and Hellenic Aerospace Business (HAI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to supply the BlueWhale to the Hellenic Navy, with HAI taking an energetic function in co-production and expertise switch. Greek media experiences have steered a possible preliminary procurement of 1 unit, with a follow-on section of as much as six automobiles at an estimated €80 million – although one Israeli outlet reported that the Hellenic Navy could in the end search as many as 10 items.

Greece’s curiosity is formed by the accelerating submarine arms race within the Aegean. Turkey has now taken supply of two Reis-class (Kind 214TN) AIP-equipped submarines from TKMS – the lead boat, TCG Piri Reis, was commissioned in August 2024, with TCG Hızırreis following in late 2025 – and plans to subject all six boats by 2029.

The Hellenic Navy at present operates 4 Kind 214 AIP submarines and one AIP-upgraded Kind 209, however Athens permitted a 20-year defence plan in 2025 that features 4 new submarines. On this context, BlueWhale gives an uneven counter: a persistent, low-signature ASW platform that may monitor hostile submarines within the Aegean’s advanced island geography with out exposing high-value manned property.

The BlueWhale procurement additionally sits inside the broader €25-28 billion Israel-Greece defence partnership anchored by the Achilles Protect programme. Underneath Achilles Protect, Athens is buying IAI’s Barak MX, Rafael’s SPYDER and David’s Sling air defence programs, and Elbit’s PULS rocket launchers – a bundle valued at roughly $3.5 billion.

HAI and IAI have already built-in the Greek Kentavros counter-drone system with the Barak MX structure. Given this deepening relationship, one can see the BlueWhale as one component of a complete Israeli defence bundle for Greece spanning air, missile, and undersea domains.

Given the Aegean Sea’s advanced geography, the BlueWhale’s means to function in shallow, congested waters – together with as shut as 10 to fifteen metres from shore, the place it might probably conceal itself amongst rocky islands – might make it a robust match for the Hellenic Navy’s operational wants.

Notes & Feedback

The BlueWhale supply is finest understood within the context of a broader European pivot in the direction of unmanned underwater programs pushed by three converging pressures: Russia-NATO tensions within the Baltic and North Atlantic, the vulnerability of subsea vital infrastructure, and structural constraints on manned submarine fleets.

The European UUV market is projected to develop from roughly $2 billion in 2025 to almost $3 billion by 2030. Defence procurement is a principal driver, with NATO-led seabed infrastructure safety initiatives and nationwide mine countermeasure modernisation programmes accelerating AUV adoption throughout northern European navies. Sweden’s FMV contracted Saab for a brand new, bigger AUV in 2025, France’s DGA awarded Naval Group a examine contract for an unmanned fight underwater automobile (UCUV), and the NATO Assist and Procurement Company ordered further mine neutralisation automobiles from France’s Exail in January 2026.

Germany’s strategy is especially instructive. Berlin shouldn’t be merely shopping for a surveillance drone – it’s trying to construct a hybrid manned-unmanned fleet structure the place LUUVs function as networked nodes alongside U212 CD submarines and floor combatants inside a shared digital command-and-control framework. The Zielbild Marine 2035+ goal of 12 or extra LUUVs suggests Germany envisions these platforms as a persistent ISR and ASW layer, overlaying areas the place deploying manned submarines could be both too expensive or too dangerous. Within the wake of the Baltic cable sabotage marketing campaign, one can even see the BlueWhale’s seabed mapping and mine detection capabilities being repurposed for monitoring subsea infrastructure – a mission set that NATO’s Baltic Sentry operation has recognized as a precedence. This drive to combine unmanned maritime programs throughout the floor and sub-surface domains shouldn’t be confined to Europe – as Quwa has famous, even mid-tier navies are actually growing USV and AUV capabilities in parallel, signalling a structural shift in how navies of all sizes conceive of maritime power construction.

Nevertheless, the reliance on Israeli-developed platforms for a core functionality raises questions on European defence-industrial autonomy – a theme that resonates throughout the continent as procurement methods shift in the direction of non-traditional suppliers. TKMS’s function because the integrator of Atlas Elektronik’s towed sonar and the broader naval community partially mitigates this concern, however one can see European opponents – together with Saab, Exail, and Naval Group – positioning their very own LUUV and XLUUV programmes as sovereign options within the coming years. One can even see some navies exploring UUV deployment from mini-submarines and different manned platforms as a complementary strategy, fairly than relying solely on standalone autonomous automobiles.

The export trajectory can also be value watching. With Germany now working the platform and Greece in superior discussions for a fleet of probably as much as 10 items, the BlueWhale might set up a significant European footprint that draws further NATO navies – significantly within the Mediterranean and Nordic areas the place persistent undersea surveillance is turning into a strategic precedence. The irony that TKMS – the identical firm constructing Turkey’s Reis-class submarines – can also be the combination companion for the BlueWhale which will assist Greece counter these very boats shouldn’t be misplaced on regional analysts.

General, the BlueWhale’s German induction represents a concrete step within the transition from experimental prototypes to operational unmanned undersea platforms inside European navies. The tempo at which Germany scales from its preliminary unit to the complete 12-plus LUUV fleet – and the diploma to which it might probably combine these programs into NATO’s joint ISR structure – might set the benchmark for allied UUV adoption over the following decade.