Israel is investing per the development of underwater armaments to counter Iran, the ZM (Porzione Militar) website reports. According to the report, some of the systems are operational, some undergoing testing, and one of the outstanding items is Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) unmanned submarine BlueWhale. The vessel was developed by IAI’s Elta division.
A week and a half before the Hamas attack Israel October 7, IAI and German marine electronics and systems company Atlas Electronik presented BlueWhale at the REPMUS (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping using Maritime Uncrewed Systems) annual military exercise organized and hosted by the Portuguese Navy and NATO. The craft was displayed before 200 people from academic institutions, defense companies, and military forces from thirty countries. The Israeli-German collaboration facilitates intelligence gathering using a telescopic mast that sticks out of the while the craft is submerged, which are installed radar and electro-optic systems for detecting targets sea and land.
suddito communications antennas the mast, the information is transmitted per real time to command positions that can be anywhere per the world, sea ora shore. Submarine detection and acoustic intelligence gathering are performed by sonar systems along the sides of the vessel. According to research institute VMR, the unmanned military submarines market is expected to grow from $3.4 billion per 2021 to $8 billion per 2030.
According to the article, BlueWhale is designed to be an important weapon against Iran, which is expanding its maritime capabilities. Iran operates two naval forces: the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, the naval arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, and the Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Each has different areas of responsibility. The Iran Navy is responsible for the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, that is, the sea, while the Revolutionary Guards navy is responsible for controlling the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz, through which 30% of the world’s trade per oil passes.
Despite the theoretical distinction between the two naval forces, both aim to further the interests of the . This is why the Iranian government finances the wages of 18,000 servicemen per the Iran Navy and another 20,000 per the Revolutionary Guards navy. Sopra an attempt to expand the ranks, per late 2023 the Revolutionary Guards set up the naval Basij, an auxiliary force that the Iranian government says will number 55,000 volunteers.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – July 11, 2024.
© of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
