Israel is investing in developing underwater weapons to counter Iran, such as the ZM (Military ZoneAccording to the report, some of the systems are operational, others are undergoing testing, and among the most prominent elements is the BlueWhale unmanned submarine from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The ship was developed by the Elta division of IAI.
A week and a half before Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, Israel Aerospace Industries and German naval systems company Atlas Elektronik presented the Blue Whale at the annual REPMUS (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Unmanned Maritime Systems) military exercise organized and hosted by the Portuguese Navy and NATO. The vehicle was showcased to 200 people from academic institutions, defense companies and military forces from 30 countries. The Israeli-German collaboration facilitates intelligence gathering using a telescopic mast that protrudes from the water while the vehicle is submerged, where radar and electro-optical systems are installed to detect targets at sea and on land.
Through satellite communication antennas mounted on the mast, information is transmitted in real time to command posts that can be anywhere in the world, at sea or on the shore. Submarines are detected and acoustic information is collected by sonar systems along the sides of the ship. According to the VMR Research Institute, the market for unmanned military submarines is expected to grow from $3.4 billion in 2021 to $8 billion in 2030.
According to the article, the Blue Whale is designed to be a major weapon against Iran, which is expanding its naval capabilities. Iran operates two navies: the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN), the naval arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC Navy), part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Each has different areas of responsibility. The IRGC Navy is responsible for the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, the open sea, while the IRGC Navy is responsible for controlling the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, through which 30% of the world’s oil trade passes.
Despite the theoretical distinction between the two navies, each aims to advance the regime’s interests. That’s why the Iranian government funds the salaries of 18,000 soldiers in the Iranian Navy and another 20,000 in the Revolutionary Guards Navy. In an effort to expand its ranks, the Revolutionary Guards in late 2023 created the Basij Naval Force, an auxiliary force that the Iranian government says will have 55,000 volunteers.
This article was published in Globes, Israeli Business News – en.globes.co.il – on July 11, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
