{"id":40371,"date":"2019-01-31T10:12:52","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T10:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/31\/eurodrone-makers-considering-us-tech-for-crucial-collision-avoidance-feature\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:14:19","slug":"eurodrone-makers-considering-us-tech-for-crucial-collision-avoidance-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2019\/01\/31\/eurodrone-makers-considering-us-tech-for-crucial-collision-avoidance-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Eurodrone\u2019 makers considering US tech for crucial collision-avoidance feature"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2014 A study commissioned by the German government recommends considering U.S. technology in a quest to make the military \u201cEurodrone\u201d safe to fly alongside civilian airliners, the Defence Ministry told lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recommendation comes from analysts at Munich-based IABG, a frequent supplier of engineering advice to the Bundeswehr, defense officials told the far-left Die Linke parliamentary faction in a Jan. 29 letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government had tasked the contractor with thinking through the required steps to make the Eurodrone capable of flying in civilian airspace. That feature is a key requirement for the aircraft, co-developed by France, Germany, Italy and Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany\u2019s Airbus Defence and Space, France\u2019s Dassault Aviation, and Italy\u2019s Leonardo last year settled on a design for the drone, which is initially meant for surveillance, though it also will be able to carry weapons. The European multinational Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation, or OCCAR, manages the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the German Defence Ministry, Airbus is expected to deliver a proposal and program strategy in April 2019, with a goal to begin serial production by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list of options for obtaining collision-avoidance technology includes two scenarios involving American expertise: One is adopting relevant U.S. safety standards and designing a new European detect-and-avoid technology package based on those. The other is adopting U.S. standards plus existing American technology wholesale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing a purely European solution from scratch is also among the options recommended to the government, according to the ministry\u2019s letter to Die Linke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDue to the dynamic pace of technology and policy development in this area, the government believes it makes no sense to determine a concrete course of action at this point,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\t