BlueWhale (UUV)

The BlueWhale is an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) produced by from Israeli manufacturer Elta Systems Ltd. is used to gather information using radar, SIGINT and communications technologies.

BlueWhale UUV

Mission

It is used for intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), including covert operations in coastal areas, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) - hunting submarines in its own territory, acoustic reconnaissance (ACINT), covert mine detection and other mine countermeasures (Mine Counter Measures, MCM), support to special forces including reconnaissance and mine detectors, reconnaissance and patrol for conventional submarines (Loyal Submarine Wingman), intelligence on piracy, terrorism, and illegal migration, and is intended to support maritime expeditions.

BlueWhale UUV

Technical data

The boat is 10.9 meters long and weighs 5.5 tons. It sails silently and stays at sea for up to four weeks. It runs 7 knots underwater and dives 300 meters deep and carries a watertight patented mast for surface payload. This can carry antennas, including SATCOM, for real-time data exchange with mission control.

BlueWhale UUV

Possible payloads:

• Radar
• day/night EO/IR
• COMINT/ELINT/ESM

Underwater sensors:

• TAS (Towed Array Sonar) developed by ATLAS ELEKTRONIK
• Active and passive Flank Array Sonar (FAS) for detection of ships and submarines
• Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) for mine detection and high resolution seabed mapping, developed by KRAKEN
• Magnetic sensors for verification of mine detection

Further reading

• Fabian, Emanuel. "Israel Aerospace Industries unveils BlueWhale unmanned spy submarine". Times of Israel.