Israel’s IAI lifts lid on new uncrewed submarine
IAI's BlueWhale uncrewed submarine pictured in the water. (Photo: IAI)
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has lifted the lid on a new large AUV, the BlueWhale, which can be used for covert intelligence gathering, detection of submarines and seabed warfare.
The company showcased the large uncrewed submarine at the Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) event in Rostock, where it also announced a collaboration with Germany's Atlas Elektronik to equip the AUV with the latter's towed passive sonar triple array.
IAI says BlueWhale has undergone thousands of hours of autonomous operation, collecting intelligence on maritime and coastal targets and identifying the presence of naval mines.
The Israeli firm said the autonomous submarines could perform a significant portion of the missions currently carried out by crewed counterparts at minimal cost and maintenance expense.
The large AUV features a telescopic mast akin to a conventional
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