State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp on Wednesday announced the delivery of a large autonomous underwater vehicle, dubbed BlueWhale, to the German Navy.
The delivery took place today at the Eckernförde naval base in northern Germany, “marking a significant milestone for autonomous underwater systems,” IAI said in a statement.
IAI said BlueWhale, first revealed in 2023, was “developed to support the German Navy in unmanned anti-submarine warfare and covert maritime missions.”
It underwent testing in the Baltic Sea, “one of the most demanding and complex areas of operation for the German Navy,” according to the Israeli defense firm.
BlueWhale uses radar and electro-optical systems to detect sea and coastal targets. It is also equipped with sonar capabilities to gather intelligence, detect manned and unmanned submarines, and map out naval mines, IAI said.
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Thyssenkrupp’s Atlas Elektronik subsidiary developed BlueWhale’s towed array sonar, making it a joint project between the German shipbuilder and IAI.
BlueWhale joins a swiftly growing array of unmanned underwater vehicles developed over the last several years as navies around the world scramble to upgrade their naval defense technologies and protect offshore assets, such as undersea pipelines and cables.
(R-L): Ambassador Ron Prosor, Israel’s Ambassador to Germany; Michael Ozegowski, EVP of TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK; Boaz Levy, President & CEO of IAI; Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack, chief of the German Navy; and Jens Plötner, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Defence, during the handover of a BlueWhale large autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to the German Navy at Eckernförde naval base in Germany, February 25, 2026. (Israel Aerospace Industries)
The German navy confirmed it had taken delivery of BlueWhale, saying the drone was intended for reconnaissance and detecting “hybrid threats at sea.”
BlueWhale is the navy’s “largest and most advanced unmanned underwater vehicle to date,” the German military said.
The Baltic Sea, where BlueWhale was tested and is likely to be deployed, has been a flashpoint for tensions between Russia and NATO since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Military experts and European leaders say Russia has ramped up its “hybrid war” in the strategic region — now bordered entirely by NATO members, with the exception of Russia — through airspace incursions and suspected sabotage of undersea cables.
According to Thyssenkrupp, BlueWhale is capable of “conducting reconnaissance operations, detecting targets above and below the sea surface, collecting acoustic information, and locating sea mines on the seabed.”
Israel and Germany have upped their defense cooperation in recent months and in January signed a security pact to expand joint work on counterterrorism and cyber defense.
In December, Germany approved a $3.1 billion expansion of a contract for the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile defense system, which is Israeli-made and developed with US support.
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