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Germany considers using armed combat drones

The German defence ministry is considering whether it “could or should” deploy armed unmanned drones in Afghanistan.

Published: 28 July 2012 14:24 CEST

Germany considers using armed combat drones

Photo: DPA

The ministry is “still at the beginning of considerations” about whether to arm the unmanned drones, as has long been called for by the Luftwaffe, a ministry spokesman said.

Armed combat drones are frequently used by US forces in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen to hit terrorist suspect targets in houses or moving cars.

However, their use often leads to civilian casualties and is highly controversial as a result, wrote Der Spiegel magazine on Friday.

But whilst the Bundeswehr sees drones as the weapon of the future, the final decision must rest on the results of a wide public discussion over whether armed drones are necessary for German forces.

The ministry spokesman denied earlier media reports that the drones would be supplied by Israel, saying that the “Heron TP is not up for discussion.”

The Bundeswehr currently uses the unarmed version of the Heron drones and the leasing contract has just been extended until October 2014.

Current discussions, which will see a decision in autumn this year, are focusing the possibility of buying the US drone Predator B.

<DAPD/The Local/jlb

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France and Germany sign deal on 'tank of the future'

During a ceremony in Paris, the defence ministers of France and Germany, Sebastien Lecornu and Boris Pistorius, signed a memorandum of understanding that seals a 50-50 split in the industrial production of an advanced battle tank dubbed the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS).

The push to move ahead with the project comes as Berlin and Paris are eager to show unity after a series of spats on how to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

In 2017, Germany and France agreed to jointly develop the next-generation battle tank as a successor to the French Leclerc and German Leopard tanks, starting in 2040.

But the tank plans have faced delays amid rivalry between French and German industrial companies, and different priorities in Berlin and Paris.

In March, the two ministers announced in Berlin they had managed to unblock the stalled project by agreeing how to split the work between the two countries.

“Today’s signing is a real milestone”, Pistorius told reporters.

“This is not the tank of the future but the future of the tank,” Lecornu added.

The tank system will have cutting-edge technology that could usher in a new era in land warfare.

The MGCS will consist not just of one armoured fighting vehicle but a system of manned and unmanned vehicles. It will include drones to protect the tank as well as the use of artificial intelligence and laser technology.

Funded in equal parts by Paris and Berlin and run under German management, the project was originally led by defence industry firm KNDS, a tie-up between Nexter from France and Germany’s KMW.

But the delicate balance was upset when Germany’s Rheinmetall joined the project in 2019.

Friday’s agreement designates manufacturers to be responsible for key components of the tank systems including platforms, turrets and guns.

Talks are beginning with manufacturers to develop an initial demonstrator, a sort of pre-prototype.

“The aim is to have the contracts in place by the end of the year, which is very ambitious,” Pistorius said.

With countries like Italy keen to join, Pistorius said the project would be open to partners, “but we already need to draw up contracts” between French and German manufacturers.

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