One of the key stages of testing of a promising underwater unmanned system of hydroacoustic and electronic reconnaissance called BlueWhale has begun near the German city of Eckernförde. According to the developers' plans, these tests will last until November and include testing of hydroacoustic systems, sensors and other technologies aimed at detecting threats underwater.

BlueWhale is an unmanned vehicle created by the Israeli company IAI. It is almost 11 meters long and weighs 5,5 tons, making it ideal for operation in coastal waters such as the Baltic Sea. The vehicle can dive to depths of 300 meters and is equipped with a system of sensors, including both active and passive elements, to detect submarines, minefields and other threats.

One of the key features of the BlueWhale system is its low-frequency towed sonar system (GAS), which uses a flexible extended antenna. Thanks to this technology, the device can effectively scan the underwater space and detect targets with a minimum level of acoustic noise, which is only 35-40 dB. This allows it to be used even to detect low-noise submarines, such as the Russian submarines of Project 636.3 "Varshavyanka".

BlueWhale is also equipped with a periscope with a multispectral optical-electronic reconnaissance system, which makes it possible to monitor both surface ships and the coastline. The periscope allows reconnaissance to be carried out in the daytime and at night, recording both thermal and optical objects in the air and sea space.

The complex processes the received data directly on board, but if necessary, can transmit it via satellite communications to ground bases for further analysis.