Israel Navy deploys unmanned submarines to protect gas rigs

In recent weeks the Israel Navy has for the first time deployed unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) in the country’s economic waters. The vessels have the ability to depict a broad maritime picture, by monitoring and characterizing the movements of vessels sailing in Israel’s economic waters. The data generated by the UUVs is collected, documented and used by the IDF to analyze threats and exercise its control at sea and in particular to protect offshore strategic assets: Israel’s gas rigs.

The naval divisions of Israel’s major defense companies have been developing, manufacturing and marketing unmanned naval vessels on a large scale for about a decade. Elbit Systems, for example, sold the Seagull multi-mission unmanned surface vessel to a country in the Asia-Pacific region in 2021, which is designed for anti-ship warfare. In December 2022, Seagull took part in the international Digital Horizon exercise, which took place in the Persian Gulf near the coast of Iran. The exercise involved cooperation between 17 unmanned naval vessel manufacturers from around the world, under the auspices of the US Fifth Fleet, whose home base is in Bahrain’s capital Manama.

At the same time, Rafael is producing the “Protector”, which is an unmanned surface vehicle for the protection and assistance of the navy. The Protector includes a high-pressure water cannon, as well as lethal weapons such as the Mini-Typhoon, a lightweight machine gun system adapted for missions along coasts and in ports.

Another company that has been dealing with the subject for many years is Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which in 2014 unveiled the Katana unmanned naval surface vehicle for maritime security. Katana provides a solution, for example, for strategic maritime assets such as drilling rigs and oil pipelines.

IAI is also very active in the field of UUVs. Notable among these is the BlueWhale, an unmanned submarine, which is the product of cooperation between IAI and German company Atlas Electronics. BlueWhale enables intelligence gathering using a telescopic mast that emerges from the water during diving (similar to a submarine’s periscope), on which radar and electro-optical systems are installed to detect targets at sea and on shore. Through the satellite communications antennas on the mast, the data collected is transmitted in real time to the designated command posts, which can be located anywhere, at sea and on shore.

IAI VP and CEO of its Elta Electronics unit Dror Bar recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the DEFEA exhibition in Greece with HAI CEO Rear Admiral Alexandros Diakopoulos for integrating BlueWhale into the Greek Navy.

The UUV, which is 10.9 meters long and weighs 5.5 tons, is operated electrically and can reach a speed of seven knots and can patrol for at least 10 days, depending on its missions. Submarine detection and acoustic intelligence gathering is performed using tens of meters of sonar, which is installed on both sides of the submarine. According to the VMR Research Institute, the military unmanned submarine market is expected to grow from about $3.4 billion in 2021 to about $8 billion in 2030.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on May 27, 2025.

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