The Blue Whale unmanned underwater vehicle. According to foreign media reports, Pierre Vendier, Commander of NATO's Supreme Allied Transformation Command, recently stated that NATO has begun planning to build an unmanned fleet at sea to assist in protecting critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean Sea. The report states that the construction plan will be divided into two phases. The first stage is to build a surface unmanned fleet, and the second stage is to build an underwater unmanned fleet. The specific formation mode will refer to the US Navy's 59th Special Task Force. Pierre Vendier stated that although the plan is still in its early stages and details have not been finalized, it has received support from the NATO Allied Maritime Command and the NATO Supreme Allied Forces Europe Command, and is expected to be launched as early as June 2025. It is reported that in recent years, regional conflicts have led to increasingly tense international situations, and the ocean has become one of the important areas of competition among major powers. Multiple countries and international organizations are strengthening manned fleets while also vigorously developing unmanned fleets. At present, multiple navies are accelerating the development and testing of various types of surface and underwater unmanned systems. The US Navy has established an unmanned system testing unit. The 59th Task Force of the US Navy's 5th Fleet was established in September 2021, deployed in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, with the aim of mobilizing various departments of the US Navy to test and evaluate equipment such as drones, unmanned boats, and unmanned underwater vehicles in forward combat environments, enhancing maritime perception and deterrence. In January of this year, the special task force established a task force called "59.1" to focus on testing and upgrading related equipment systems. It is reported that as of November this year, the "59.1" task force has conducted experimental upgrades of 23 different unmanned systems. The British Navy fleet is accelerating the deployment of unmanned systems. The British Navy's Prince of Wales aircraft carrier has completed multiple training tasks related to unmanned systems, including training for the takeoff and landing of the Mojave drone and heavy unmanned transport aircraft. This is also the first time that the British Navy has conducted this type of training on an aircraft carrier. In addition, the British Navy has applied the Remus100 and Remus300 unmanned underwater vehicles for mine detection. The German Navy is testing a new type of unmanned equipment. The German Navy recently conducted another test on the "Blue Whale" unmanned underwater vehicle. The Blue Whale is equipped with synthetic aperture sonar for mine detection, a dual static towed array sonar for submarine tracking, and a telescopic mast for surface surveillance. It can autonomously operate for 30 days at a depth of 300 meters underwater and perform tasks such as reconnaissance and surveillance, anti submarine warfare, and anti mine warfare. It is one of the candidate equipment for the German Navy to strike enemy submarines in the future. (New Society)