Greece to lease three Blue Whale unmanned underwater vehicles from Israel

The Greek Navy is planning to acquire three Blue Whale ELI-3325 autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) through a financial leasing arrangement. The procurement is expected to be conducted under an intergovernmental agreement with Israel.

Developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the Blue Whale systems are designed for various maritime missions, including anti-submarine warfare, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, mine countermeasures, and seabed monitoring. The vehicles feature high autonomy and a modular architecture, capable of operating for 10 to 30 days depending on the mission profile and battery configuration.

Due to limited budget constraints, Greece has opted for a leasing model rather than a direct purchase. This follows a similar procurement method previously used for the country’s first Heron 1 unmanned aerial vehicles. While an earlier plan considered purchasing five units—which could have led to a local production line through cooperation between Salamis Shipyards and Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAB)—the current focus has shifted to the lease of three units.