Germany is in advanced negotiations with Israel to purchase the BlueWhale unmanned submarine, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), according to a report from the defense-focused site Defense-Network.com.
Since IAI first unveiled the autonomous naval platform, the German Navy has shown strong interest in acquiring it, driven by growing concerns over underwater threats. This interest led to extensive evaluations of the submarine.
Last year, Germany’s armed forces (Bundeswehr) conducted intensive two-week trials of the BlueWhale submarine as part of their OPEX (Operational Experimentation) initiative. The tests, conducted in the challenging Baltic Sea environment, were done in collaboration with IAI and the German firm Atlas Elektronik.
According to IAI, the submarine was tested in accordance with requirements set by the German Navy and the Federal Technical Center for Ships and Naval Weapons (WTD 71). NATO’s Centre of Excellence for Naval Operations also supported the integration of the BlueWhale into Germany’s future naval forces.