Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate IAI’s advanced BlueWhale autonomous submarine system into the Hellenic Navy.
As disclosed, the memorandum was signed at this year’s DEFEA exhibition in Athens.
According to IAI, Bluewhale is designed for sensitive underwater missions without crew and without risk to human life. The vessel is equipped with modern technologies and supports intelligence gathering, anti-submarine warfare, and mine countermeasure operations.
As part of the agreement, HAI will play an active role in the development and production phases. Meanwhile, IAI will provide technology transfer and access to advanced know-how.
This collaboration is expected to strengthen the defense industries and innovation capabilities of both nations.
“Beyond its operational impact, this partnership deepens the strategic alliance between Israel and Greece — promoting technological independence and regional stability,” IAI stated.
To remind, in 2023, IAI presented its BlueWhale large autonomous underwater vehicle, Israel’s first autonomous submarine. The vessel has already undergone thousands of autonomous operation hours, including intelligence gathering for both maritime and coastal targets, acoustic intelligence, and identifying the presence of naval mines.