Germany has deployed an underwater stealth drone to patrol the Baltic Sea in an attempt to confront Chinese and Russian saboteurs.

Elta Germany Blue Whale
Elta Systems' Blue Whale autonomous drone – Elta Systems

First reported by The Telegraph, the Blue Whale drone was produced by Israeli defense firm Elta in light of recent cable cuts across the Baltic Sea.

The five-ton, 36-foot autonomous submarine drone, which travels at 8mph at depths of 300m, can be used to detect suspicious vessels and spot mines.

Its design includes a “Synthetic Aperture Sonar” to capture high-resolution images of the seafloor, and a “Flank Array Sonar” for detecting other vessels.

“Underwater drones like the Blue Whale will allow the German navy to take a big step forward in monitoring the Baltic Sea and detecting submarines, without resorting to expensive manned systems,” said Johannes Peters, an expert from Kiel University’s Institute for Security Policy.

Cables cut in the Baltic Sea in recent months include the Estlink 2 cable, which was cut at the end of last year between Finland and Estonia. Around the same time, three Internet cables connecting the two nations were cut, and a fourth fiber optic cable between Finland and Germany was also cut.

International investigators had suspected Russia and China of deliberately cutting these cables. Finnish Authorities even seized the Eagle S ship, carrying Russian oil, in late December under suspicion of being behind the cable cuts.

Shortly before that, in November, a Chinese ship’s crew was accused of deliberately dragging an anchor to sever two subsea cables in the Baltic Sea.

The cuts even prompted NATO to launch its Baltic Sentry initiative to strengthen security in the region. However, US and European officials said this week that all cuts in the Baltic Sea were likely accidental and not acts of sabotage.

Germany and Israel have previously collaborated on security and defense. For example, Israel is supplying Germany with its Arrow 3 missile interception system.

Elta Systems, established more than five decades ago in Israel, supplies solutions for defense, paramilitary, government, and law enforcement agencies. Its products can be deployed underground, on land, in the sea, through cyberspace, in the sky, and in space.