Germany agrees to lease Israeli-made drones: manufacturer

Germany has agreed a nine year deal worth over half a billion dollars to lease Israeli military reconnaissance drones capable of carrying missiles, the aircraft's manufacturers said Thursday.

European aerospace giant Airbus, which signed the $600 million (500 million euro) agreement on behalf of the German defence ministry, will maintain and provide operational support for the Heron TP drones, Israel Aerospace Industries said.

An official from the state-owned Israeli firm, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the deal covered five drones.

The German military currently uses Israel's Heron 1 in Afghanistan and Mali, with the more advanced Heron TP drones expected to replace earlier models.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the German parliament had approved the deal the previous day following the government's green light.

"It's a very large deal," Netanyahu said, "and that of course helps our defence industries and I think it helps security in Europe."

"It's a very, very good piece of news," he said at a security conference in Jerusalem.

IAI said the deal was pending German federal budgetary approval.

In 2016, then-German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen said the intention was to use the Israeli drones until a similar European model was operational.

Germany had considered buying Predator drones from the United States, but ultimately opted for the Heron TP, which German officials have said could be made available more quickly and would provide a smoother transition between models.

Related Links
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

NASA flies large unmanned aircraft in public airspace without chase plane for first time
Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Jun 14, 2018
NASA's remotely-piloted Ikhana aircraft, based at the agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, successfully flew its first mission in the National Airspace System without a safety chase aircraft on Tuesday. This historic flight moves the United States one step closer to normalizing unmanned aircraft operations in the airspace used by commercial and private pilots. Flying these large remotely-piloted aircraft over the United States opens the doors to all types of services, ... read more