Tel Aviv: Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Atlas Elektronik, have announced that following the successful participation of IAI BlueWhale ASW uncrewed submarine, together with Atlas Elektronik’s towed passive sonar in the 7th annual REPMUS (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping using Maritime Unmanned Systems) military exercise, the BlueWhale ASW will also take part in the NATO Dynamic Messenger exercise.
BlueWhale ASW, developed by one of IAI’s divisions – ELTA, is an autonomous submarine that can conduct some of the missions of manned submarines, without the need for operators at sea. It can operate for several weeks at a time and has minimal operating costs. The uncrewed submarine is equipped with a variety of sensors, including a telescopic mast with radar and electro-optical sensors, and Atlas Elektronik’s towed array sonar. A transmitter developed by Atlas Elektronik, deployed from a crewed surface vessel, enables the biostatic location and tracking of sea targets by BlueWhale ASW.
The BlueWhale ASW is the first of its kind in the world to be developed and can be a game changer in the future battlefield.
IAI President and CEO, Boaz Levy, said that the participation in the REMPUS exercise together with all NATO countries brings to light the leadership of the aerospace industry in the maritime sector as well, and reveals a touch of the joint work with NATO countries, whose leading systems of the aerospace industry are integrated into the various security bodies in its member states.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
