Germany plans to renew a UAV programmed that had been canceled in 2013 due to costs and concerns about airworthiness, Defense News reports.
The Euro Hawk, developed by Northrop Grumman, will come back to finish testing its integrated signal intelligence system from Airbus Defence & Space.
The country has already invested money equivalent to US $750 million into the program, and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen would like to recoup some of that, according to the report. In addition, with the 2010 retirement of five Breguet Br 1150 Atlantique aircraft, Germany has a SIGINT gap.
“We need this technology in order to generate a clear intelligence picture on which to base our decisions, and this is a specific area of intel that we currently don’t have,” said Lt. Col. Gero von Fritsche, Defense Ministry spokesman.
However, while the UAVs will return to flight to complete the SIGINT system testing, Germany has no plans to complete the Euro Hawk’s development, according to the report. Instead, the country is looking for a suitable alternative platform for the sensors.
Read the full report at Defense News.
