Status: 06.04.2022 1:39 p.m
The purchase of rockets for the future Bundeswehr drones of the Heron TP type has been a long struggle. In the grand coalition, the SPD opposed it. In view of the Ukraine war, the project is now taking place without a hitch.
After years of debate, the Bundeswehr is to be equipped with armed drones for the first time. The Defense Committee of the Bundestag approved the plans of the federal government and agreed to the purchase of a total of 140 rocket sets for arming drones of the Israeli model Heron TP, as the news agencies AFP and dpa unanimously report.
According to the decision, 60 of the 140 planned sets for arming the drones are intended for training purposes, and the remaining 80 for “operational use”. The order volume should total EUR 152.61 million. The rocket sets would now have to be ordered from the manufacturer in Israel and should be delivered within two years.
Armed drones for the Bundeswehr for the first time
The Ministry of Defense intends to fully arm the drones, including training and procurement of ammunition. This would mean that the Bundeswehr would receive so-called combat drones for the first time. The Bundestag had already approved the purchase of Israeli Heron TP drones in 2018 – albeit without armament.
The purchase of armed drones had already been decided in principle by the former federal government made up of Union and SPD. At the end of 2020, however, the SPD had refused to agree to arming the drones.
After that, the project desired by the Bundeswehr was put on hold. After the federal elections in 2021, the traffic light parties SPD, Greens and FDP agreed in their coalition agreement that they would be purchased during this legislative period.
Armament subject to conditions
The arming of the drones should be carried out under “binding and transparent conditions and taking into account ethical and security policy aspects,” says the coalition agreement – and further: “Armed drones can help protect soldiers on foreign missions.”
“We will thus be able to guarantee significantly better protection for our soldiers in possible future deployments of the Bundeswehr,” said SPD budget politician Andreas Schwarz. “That, and that alone, is the job of armed drones,” he said.
Use of drones only with a Bundestag mandate
The future use of drones by the Bundeswehr should be subject to strict requirements. They could only be used if this is explicitly provided for in the Bundestag mandate for the respective foreign deployment of the Bundeswehr, according to the parliamentary group’s draft resolution for the budget committee.
In addition to the limits under international and constitutional law, the use of armed drones is also subject to the limits that the Bundestag prescribes “through the mission, the area of operation and the capabilities to be used”, the draft further states. The “decision, control and control units” for the drones should be stationed in the operational area and not far away in Germany.
At the same time, the federal government is stepping up its efforts to include armed drones in international control regimes and supports “international efforts to achieve binding regulation of autonomy in weapon systems and to outlaw applications that violate ethical principles and principles of international law,” the draft resolution goes on to say.
Rapid procedure in view of the Ukraine war
For the parliamentary release of the funds, the federal government chose an accelerated procedure with reference to the currently tense security situation. In view of the Russian attack on Ukraine, there is an “urgent need” to order the arming of the drones in a timely manner, according to the AFP in a submission from the Federal Ministry of Defense.
“In order to be able to counter the new threat, the equipment of the Bundeswehr must be upgraded immediately, for which purpose the armament of the Heron drones in particular should be promoted.”
Union criticizes strict deployment regulations
Although the Union welcomed the planned arming of the drones, it sharply criticized the strict operational regulations. “According to the will of the traffic light groups, parliament should take over the operational control of the combat drone and explain the tactical use of weapons to the troops down to the last detail,” said the budget spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Christian Haase. “This is equivalent to disenfranchising the Bundeswehr,” said the CDU politician.
After the defense committee, the budget committee of the Bundestag still had to agree to the procurement. Parts of the project are classified as classified.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article stated that the Defense Committee had approved the purchase of 140 combat drones. This information is incorrect. We have corrected the error and we apologize.