Back to news

January 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Germany walks away from $2.5 billion purchase of US Navy’s Triton spy drones

By: Sebastian Sprenger

COLOGNE, Germany — The German government has canceled plans to buy Northrop Grumman-made Triton drones to the tune of $2.5 billion, opting instead for manned planes carrying eavesdropping sensors.

The decision to buy Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft comes after officials became convinced that the Global Hawk derivatives would be unable to meet the safety standards needed for flying through European airspace by 2025, a target date for Berlin's NATO obligations.

A defense ministry spokeswoman told Defense News the Triton option had grown “significantly more expensive” compared with earlier planning assumptions.

The U.S. State Department in April 2018 cleared Germany's request to purchase four MQ-4C Triton drones for signals intelligence missions under the country's PEGASUS program, short for “Persistent German Airborne Surveillance System.” The program includes a sensor, dubbed “ISIS-ZB” and made by Hensoldt, for intercepting communications and locating targets by their electromagnetic signature.

The German Defence Ministry for years had been banking on the Triton purchase to come with a pre-installed safety-technology package that would be easily approved by European air traffic authorities. But officials saw their hopes dashed as Italy recently issued a military-type certificate for a sister drone — NATO's Alliance Ground Surveillance fleet of Global Hawks, stationed in Sigonella, Sicily — that prescribes tight restrictions on flights over the continent.

Manned aircraft like the envisioned Global 6000 are allowed to routinely fly alongside civilian traffic, a prospect that the Germans see as more palatable than dealing with drone-specific airspace corridors.

Berlin hopes to catch the tail end of Bombardier's Global 6000 manufacturing run, as the model is being phased out in favor of an upgrade. While that strategy could yield a better price, Berlin needs to move soon before the production line goes cold, according to officials.

Letting drones fly in the same airspace as civilian traffic remains an unresolved problem, as the requisite sensing technology and the regulatory framework are still emerging. Germany previously tried filling its signals-intelligence gap with the Euro Hawk, but the project tanked in 2013 after spending $700 million because officials underestimated the trickiness of attaining airworthiness qualification.

With the Triton gone, Germany's next ambition for a fully approved unmanned aircraft lies with the so-called Eurodrone, a cooperation with France. Officials have said that the program is designed from the start with manned-unmanned airspace integration in mind.

https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2020/01/28/germany-walks-away-from-25-billion-purchase-of-us-navys-triton-spy-drones

On the same subject

  • Update: US Air Force seeks information on maritime strike weapon

    August 17, 2020 | International, Naval

    Update: US Air Force seeks information on maritime strike weapon

    by Pat Host The US Air Force (USAF) is conducting market research into kinetic weapons capable of engaging and defeating maritime surface vessels, according to a 24 July request for information (RFI) posted on the federal contracting website beta.sam.gov. No further details were available with the public version of the RFI, which had a version classified secret by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) armament systems development division. USAF spokesperson Ilka Cole said on 10 August that while the specific capabilities sought are classified, the service seeks information on any kinetic weapon capable of engaging and defeating maritime surface vessels. An expert believes that this RFI is the USAF's effort to capture weapons compatible with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) that are not the Lockheed Martin AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) nor the Raytheon-Kongsberg Defense Systems Joint Strike Missile (JSM) air-launched anti-ship weapon being developed for the F-35. Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington, DC, told Janes on 31 July that the LRASM will probably not be compatible with the F-35 as the stakeholders have not been able to integrate it on to the aircraft for internal carriage due to the weapon's large size. Lockheed Martin spokesman Brett Ashworth said on 12 August that the company is investing in F-35 integration efforts for LRASM and the AGM-158B Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER). He said there is operator interest in both weapons and the company is working to ensure outstanding weapon stand-off and effects. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/update-us-air-force-seeks-information-on-maritime-strike-weapon

  • Guerre en Ukraine : les armées face au double enjeu de la massification et de la modernisation de leur arsenal

    May 26, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Guerre en Ukraine : les armées face au double enjeu de la massification et de la modernisation de leur arsenal

    L'Usine Nouvelle et Le Monde consacrent un article aux conséquences du conflit ukrainien sur la stratégie d'équipement des armées. Ce conflit est marqué par le volume d'équipements engagés et l'intensité des combats. « La guerre en Ukraine va changer de manière durable la doctrine de l'emploi des forces », analyse Aymeric Gobillard, directeur pour le cabinet Alix Partners et spécialiste des questions de Défense, cité par L'Usine Nouvelle. « Le volume d'équipements engagés a surpris tout le monde. Environ 600 chars russes ont été détruits. Cela représente plus que la totalité des chars français et allemands ». L'approche de l'armée française, qui a misé sur la modernisation de son arsenal tout en réduisant son nombre de chars, d'avions de combats et de frégates, devrait être remise en cause par les leçons du conflit, de même que celle des différents états-majors européens. « Typiquement dans le domaine des drones : sur le champ de bataille, ils ont des impacts très forts pour un coût très faible. Avec 4 drones qui coûtent 1000 € pièce, on peut empêcher ou rendre difficile le décollage d'un avion qui coûte 10 M€ » indique Aymeric Gobillard. Toutefois, les grandes puissances militaires ne sont pas non plus prêtes à abandonner la course technologique. La Chine, la Russie et les Etats-Unis développent des programmes pour disposer des dernières armes, comme les missiles hypersoniques, capables de contrer les meilleures défenses antiaériennes. L'Usine Nouvelle et Le Monde du 24 mai

  • Le ministre des Armées confirme le Rafale F5 et le futur drone de combat pour l'AAE

    June 9, 2023 | International, Aerospace

    Le ministre des Armées confirme le Rafale F5 et le futur drone de combat pour l'AAE

    Auditionné par la Commission des affaires étrangères, de la défense et des forces armées, le ministre des Armées, Sébastien Lecornu, a confirmé la mise en service du Rafale au standard F5 et d’un drone accompagnateur tiré du programme Neuron dans le cadre de la Loi de programmation militaire 2024-2030.

All news