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Germany’s New BlueWhale Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Is Transforming Baltic Maritime Surveillance.
Israel Aerospace Industries and thyssenkrupp Marine Systems delivered the BlueWhale large autonomous underwater vehicle to the German Navy at Eckernförde under the Kurs Marine 2035+ modernization plan. The system gives Berlin a persistent, low-signature ISR platform in the Baltic Sea, reinforcing NATO’s undersea awareness in a strategically sensitive and acoustically challenging theater.
On 25 February 2026, Israel Aerospace Industries and thyssenkrupp Marine Systems delivered the BlueWhale large autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to the German Navy at Eckernförde, marking a milestone in Berlin’s effort to expand uncrewed maritime capabilities. The handover, conducted as part of the “Kurs Marine 2035+” long-term naval modernization programme, is officially presented as the service’s first submarine-type uncrewed system and a reference case for rapidly introducing mature autonomous platforms into operational use. Presented by the companies as a fully operational system following extensive testing in the Baltic Sea, BlueWhale introduces a persistent, low-signature undersea intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance asset into one of Europe’s most acoustically complex theatres. In the confined, shallow waters of the Baltic, where salinity gradients, heavy commercial traffic and dense seabed infrastructure complicate detection, sustained sensor presence can be more decisive than platform mass alone.
Germany has taken delivery of the BlueWhale autonomous underwater vehicle, adding a persistent, low-signature ISR capability to strengthen NATO’s undersea surveillance posture in the Baltic Sea (Picture Source: Wikimedia / IAI)
BlueWhale is described as a fully autonomous large underwater vehicle integrating reconnaissance functions, advanced sensor suites and onboard data processing. The vehicle is approximately 10.9 m long, 1.12 m in diameter and weighs around 5.5 tonnes, with an endurance in the order of 10 to 30 days at depths of up to 300 m, depending on mission profile, allowing it to remain submerged and on task for weeks without recovery. Its mission set, as outlined by the manufacturers, includes unmanned submarine defense, support to anti-submarine warfare, intelligence collection and covert maritime tasks. The platform is designed to detect targets above and below the surface, gather acoustic intelligence and locate naval mines on the seabed. Baltic Sea trials, conducted in what has been characterized as one of the German Navy’s most demanding operating environments, validated the system in shallow-water conditions marked by reverberation, clutter and constrained maneuver space.
Official announcement notes that BlueWhale’s design builds on thousands of diving hours accumulated in earlier trials and participation in multinational exercises, providing a level of technical maturity that allowed Germany to move from evaluation to delivery in a relatively short timeframe. Rather than focusing on a single high-visibility capability, the system’s operational logic centers on persistence: maintaining long-duration patrols to transform fragmented acoustic indications into track-quality situational awareness across wide search areas.
The German-delivered configuration incorporates an advanced anti-submarine warfare towed array sonar integrated by ATLAS ELEKTRONIK, a ATLAS ELEKTRONIK segment of TKMS. This sonar fit, derived from the company’s low-frequency ACTAS family and implemented as a triplet array optimized for long-endurance towing, is designed to operate at depths and frequency bands traditionally exploited by submarines to evade detection. In combination with a bistatic concept in which an additional transmitter can be deployed from an autonomous or crewed surface vessel, the system enhances sensitivity against quiet underwater targets. This sensor architecture positions BlueWhale as a forward-deployed acoustic node capable of operating ahead of crewed surface combatants and submarines.
Within a broader naval network architecture, the AUV can extend the sensor horizon of frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and embarked helicopters by conducting continuous acoustic search patterns and relaying contact cues. While the platform is not presented as a weapons carrier, its ability to shorten the timeline between initial detection and confident classification enhances the effectiveness of manned assets tasked with contact investigation and potential prosecution. In the Baltic’s cluttered littoral battlespace, improvements in cueing fidelity and persistence can significantly reinforce anti-submarine warfare posture, particularly against conventionally powered submarines exploiting shallow-water propagation conditions.
According to Israel Aerospace Industries, BlueWhale also integrates radar and electro-optical systems for detecting surface and coastal targets, complementing its sonar suite. These payloads are housed on a retractable mast with a profile similar to that of a small submarine sail, which can be raised to periscope depth to conduct surface surveillance while the main hull remains submerged. The mast is also equipped with secure, long-range communications, including satellite links, allowing the AUV to feed processed data and contact reports back to shore-based or afloat command centers in near-real time.
This multi-sensor approach is particularly relevant in semi-enclosed seas where threats are layered vertically, from seabed mines and critical subsea infrastructure to periscope-depth submarines and fast surface craft. By correlating acoustic data with surface and near-surface detections, the AUV contributes to a more coherent recognized maritime picture, especially in chokepoints, port approaches and infrastructure corridors. In German Navy communication, BlueWhale is also associated with the detection of “hybrid threats at sea,” a formulation that encompasses covert interference with seabed infrastructure, illicit activity in dense traffic corridors and the use of small, hard-to-attribute platforms in contested waters.
German Navy communication surrounding the handover frames BlueWhale as the service’s first submarine-type uncrewed system and links it to a broader hybrid fleet concept pairing crewed and uncrewed platforms. The delivery ceremony at Eckernförde, attended by State Secretary Jens Plötner from the Federal Ministry of Defence and Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, underscored the political intent behind this approach: procurement channels were deliberately shortened to bring a proven system into service within months, rather than years, and operational units were closely involved in specifying requirements.
In practical terms, such an approach enables endurance-intensive tasks, wide-area acoustic search, seabed mapping and persistent monitoring, to be conducted by autonomous systems, potentially reducing the need to keep high-value crewed submarines or surface combatants continuously on station for routine surveillance. Crewed platforms, including Germany’s existing Type 212A and future Type 212CD submarines, can therefore concentrate on deterrence patrols, complex anti-submarine warfare prosecution and command-and-control functions, while uncrewed systems thicken the sensor grid and assume much of the risk associated with operating close to contested coasts or infrastructure.
For maximum strategic effect, operational networking will be central. Employed as a forward sensor node in straits, narrow sea lanes and around critical undersea infrastructure, BlueWhale can feed acoustic tracks and seabed anomaly data into national and allied maritime situational awareness frameworks, including NATO mechanisms focused on protecting subsea cables and pipelines. In a region where crises may begin with ambiguous undersea activity rather than overt attack, the ability to maintain a persistent acoustic baseline and rapidly detect deviations strengthens both early warning and attribution timelines. By building an archive of “normal” acoustic conditions and seabed signatures, the system can also support forensic analysis after an incident, providing additional context on when, where and how an anomaly first appeared.
BlueWhale does not alter the Baltic balance through firepower; it does so through endurance and sensor density. By expanding anti-submarine warfare coverage, reinforcing seabed security and contributing to a continuously updated undersea picture, the system enhances Germany’s capacity to monitor and interpret activity across a strategically sensitive maritime domain. Germany is not the first European navy to adopt BlueWhale, an earlier agreement saw the system selected by the Greek Navy, with industrial participation from Hellenic Aerospace Industry, but the German procurement embeds the AUV directly into a wider future-fleet concept and NATO-focused posture in the Baltic. If effectively integrated into fleet operations and allied information-sharing structures, it will increase the resilience and responsiveness of NATO’s northeastern maritime flank without requiring a proportional expansion of crewed force structure, exemplifying how large autonomous underwater vehicles are moving from demonstration projects to operational tools in European naval planning.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.