{"id":57443,"date":"2018-06-14T15:57:30","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T15:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/14\/german-lawmakers-approve-drone-deal-with-israel\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:15:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:15:28","slug":"german-lawmakers-approve-drone-deal-with-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/unmanned\/2018\/06\/14\/german-lawmakers-approve-drone-deal-with-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"German lawmakers approve drone deal with Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PARIS \u2015 German lawmakers on Wednesday signed off on a proposal to lease<\/a> five Heron TP drones from Israel, drawing immediate praise from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $1 billion-plus deal will replace the Heron 1 unmanned aircraft, deployed by the Bundeswehr for surveillance in Afghanistan and Mali, with a weapons-capable successor model. The terms of the parliamentary approval dictate that arming the drones will later require a separate decision by lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Netanyahu lauded the decision as a \u201cgreat contribution to the Israeli security industry and to the Israeli economy,\u201d according to a statement distributed by his office. \u201cThe giant deal is an expression of the strategic partnership between Germany and Israel and attests to the potential of Israeli industry to contribute to countries such as Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the topic of the Heron TP lease, which had been awaiting a decision for a year, came up at a meeting last week with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and he thanked her for \u201cdealing with the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it\u2019s questionable that Merkel had much to do with the final outcome, as both coalition government parties already had lined up support ahead of the meetings of the defense and appropriations committees yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\t