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Germany and France are to team up to develop military drones that would initially be used for battlefield surveillance, but could later be armed, the two nations’ leaders said in Berlin last week. Italy will also participate in the project. The decision as to what companies specifically will be carrying out the project will be made before the year is out.
The German military forces currently lease or buy drones built in the United States and Israel.
The announcement also said German and French forces will team up to launch military surveillance satellites, this by 2018. French President Francois Hollande explained that: “This is so we can be independent, independent in manufacture, independent in the use of the images. Images are power.”
Hollande referred to this power as an essential resource for European military forces when in action. It “means we don’t have to rely on other people’s images.” Germany’s parliamentary defense committee was informed about the project just before the announcement.
The new generation of drones planned, capable of remaining airborne 24 hours at a time, would be ready between 2020 and 2025. Unmanned aircraft big enough for such lengthy missions would also be large enough to carry missiles.
In addition the German forces need to decide what existing drone system to lease or buy for the time being, before the arrival of the European model. At the moment it uses mostly the Heron 1 series of drones, which it leases from Israel.
Three companies appear keen to form a consortium to win the drone contract: Airbus, Dassault Aviation of France and Alenia Aermacchi of Italy. These companies have presented their first proposals already in May 2014.
