Drones leased by the German military could be being used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the current war in the Middle East, according to limited information the German government has released.
The Israeli-built Heron TP drones, capable of carrying weapons, as well as target acquisition and surveillance, are two of a fleet leased by the German government in 2018 under then Chancellor Angela Merkel.
German soldiers were being trained on the two drones in Israel when Israel's war in Gaza began in October 2023. Germany then handed over the drones to the IDF "in solidarity with Israel," as a German Defense Ministry statement said at the time. The drones were part of a package of military support that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius pledged during a summit in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas terror attack of October 7.
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What was not clear in the months following was whether or not the lease contract — reported to be worth around €1 billion ($1.1 bio) — was still being paid by Germany. A freedom of information request from April confirmed that, though the German military no longer had access to the drones, the contract with Israel was still "active."
The Heron drones are Medium-Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) capable of carrying a "variety of weapons," as manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) puts it on its website. Called "Eitans" in Israel, they have a 26-meter (85-foot) wingspan, can stay in the air for over 30 hours, and fly at an altitude........