Germany to invest EUR 152 Mn to arm its MALE Heron TP drones.

In July 2016, the German Ministry of Defense announced its intention to lease 5 MALE [Medium Altitude Long Endurance] Heron TP [or Eitan] drone systems from the Israeli group IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) for 580 million euros. In June 2018, Germany signed the leasing agreement. Under this contract, the German army would use these UAVs only to conduct unarmed reconnaissance missions. They would be modified according to this restriction. However, these drones will, at last, be armed, a decision taken on April 6.

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Heron TP MALE UAV (Picture source: IAI)

At first, this decision was challenged by the American manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautic Systems, which saw an opportunity to place its MQ-9 Reaper slip away. And the case was taken to court. Bad idea since the Federal Cartel Office dismissed its case, as did the Düsseldorf court, Laurent Lagneau recalls in Opex360. Anyway, these drones would not be armed, serving only for intelligence gathering and surveillance/reconnaissance missions.

On April 6, 2022, the members of the German Defense Committee approved the government's request to acquire 140 missiles to arm the five Heron TP drones, including 60 for training purposes. All this for 152.6 million euros. So, it took at least six years to reach such a decision.

According to the Bloomberg agency, a draft resolution to be examined by the Budget Committee [which will also have its say] indicates, in particular, that armed drones can only be used in combat if the Bundestag has explicitly so endorsed: “The use of armed drones is subject to international and constitutional limits as well as limits imposed by the Bundestag. […] The use of drones is only authorized to combat ‘legitimate targets’ within the meaning of international humanitarian law”, as it is specified in this draft resolution echoed by Laurent Lagneau.

The IAI Heron TP is a multi-role, advanced, long-range Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) designed for strategic missions. It is equipped with automatic taxi-takeoff and landing systems (ATOL), satellite communication (SATCOM) for extended range, fully redundant avionics, and more. It is intended to perform a variety of strategic missions, including intelligence gathering, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance, using various payloads, with a high level of reliability.

The Heron TP MALE is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67A turboprop engine developing 1,200 hp with a maximum flying range of 1,000 km and a maximum altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m). The UAV is 14-meter long and features an all-composite airframe with a high-wing cantilever monoplane design. This UAV is able to carry 1,000 kg of payload including an electro-optical targeting system, infrared cameras, and laser range finder.