Germany takes delivery of Israeli-made underwater drone

The German navy says it has taken delivery of an Israeli-made Blue Whale underwater drone intended for reconnaissance and detecting “hybrid threats at sea.”

The autonomous underwater vehicle, developed by Israeli company IAI together with German submarine and warship-maker TKMS, was received in the northern port of Eckernfoerde, the navy says in a statement.

The army on its website says the Blue Whale is the navy’s “largest and most advanced unmanned underwater vehicle to date.”

The device was tested in the Baltic Sea, a flashpoint for tensions between Russia and NATO since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the army says.

Military experts and European leaders say Russia has ramped up its “hybrid war” in the strategic region — now bordered entirely by NATO members, with the exception of Russia — through airspace incursions and suspected sabotage of undersea cables.

TKMS says the Blue Whale is capable of “conducting reconnaissance operations, detecting targets above and below the sea surface, collecting acoustic information, and locating sea mines on the seabed.”

Israel and Germany have upped their defense cooperation in recent months and, in January, signed a security pact to expand joint work on counterterrorism and cyber defense.