Italian MoD provides first details of its new long-range ISR/ASW AUV programme, an Italian-Israeli solution based on an Israeli platform and Italian payloads
To strengthen the presence, surveillance and data collection in areas of direct national strategic interest, as well as uncrewed ASW capabilities in support of force projection from the sea, together with the control of off-shore platforms and underwater infrastructures that convey energy and data flows, the Italian Navy General Staff has proposed to procure three Large Displacement Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (LDAUV) together with a remote command and control station as well as launch and recovery system, to be deployed from surface and underwater platforms with advanced capabilities in terms of modularity, endurance and flexibility. The programme also includes payloads and systems as well as logistic support and training of the personnel for the system use and maintenance.
The programme is based on the international cooperation between Italy and Israel on the specific topic, which is regulated by the framework arrangement and memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was signed between to the two nations’ procurement bodies in December 2021. This has taken to the current Italian-Israeli BlueWhale (IIBW) LDAUV solution based on the BlueWhale platform developed by IAI/Elta Systems with the integration of payloads and systems developed by the Italian industry. The international cooperation at industrial level is managed through the memorandum of collaboration that was signed in February 2022 and which defines the perimeter of industrial cooperation and workshare between the involved companies.
The document was signed by Elta Systems and the Italian companies Elettronica, FAAM, CABI Cattaneo, BATS Italia and ICS Technologies. According to first information released to the Parliament, CABI Cattaneo will develop the vehicle integration with the surface and underwater platforms, FAAM will provide lithium ion batteries, ICS Technologies the sonar suite integration and BATS Italia the logistic support. Although no details has been provided for Elettronica, the latter is expected to supply the EW suite including signal and communication intelligence equipment.
https://www.edrmagazine.eu/italian-mod- ... n-payloadsAccording to the document presented to the Parliament the programme, which will last 13 years, has an overall estimated cost of 254.3 million Euro of which 6 million have already been allocated for the first two years also called “first phase”.
The accompanying documentation specifies that “these vehicles will be used in a coastal environment, as precursor sensors of underwater or surface launching platforms, or in the open sea, as an extension of the organic sensor suite of the launching platform, ensuring a particular benefit especially in the case of submarines.
- Il Ministro Crosetto ha presentato il DPP per il triennio 2023-2025 (7. November 2023)
https://www.difesa.it/primopiano/il-min ... 30111.html- Documento Programmatico Pluriennale della Difesa 2023-2025, p. 183
https://www.difesa.it/amministrazione-t ... /3756.html
- Documento Programmatico Pluriennale della Difesa 2023-2025, p. 183
Convocazione della IV Commissione
(DIFESA)
Mercoledì 27 marzo 2024 (*)
https://www.camera.it/leg19/1099?slAnno ... mit1=invia
- Schema di decreto ministeriale di approvazione del programma pluriennale di A/R n. SMD 17/2023, denominato "Capacità ISR e ASW lanciabile da piattaforma navale a mezzo sistema subacqueo autonomo" (139)
https://www.camera.it/leg19/682?atto=13 ... a=19&tab=1
BlueWhale™ System ELI-3325
https://www.iai.co.il/p/bluewhaletm-system-eli-3325
