The German Navy will receive four Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare.
+ Video: Dodge owner finds car without all four doors after parking it on the street
+ Plane with automation system lands alone after in-flight emergency
According to a report from the German website Hard pointeach system consists of two drones MQ-9B SeaGuardianas well as other components and a command and control system, meaning that the German Armed Forces will acquire a total of eight MQ-9Bs.
The financial scope of the contract is estimated at around 1.52 billion euros. This amount, which comes from special funds and the regular budget, includes spare parts and other services, such as flight crew training, for an initial two-year period of operation.
The procurement will be managed by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), which administers the contract with the manufacturer on behalf of the German government.
Delivery of the aircraft, which will be based at the Nordholz naval air base, is scheduled for the period between 2028 and 2030. According to reports, the unmanned aerial vehicles will be upgraded to an anti-submarine warfare configuration in 2031 and 2032.
The German Navy has repeatedly emphasized that it expects significant synergy effects from the introduction of the MQ-9B in partner countries such as Great Britain and Canada, which also operate this type of aircraft.
“I consider the deadlines to be ambitious, but in my opinion the systems will make a significant contribution to the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the Bundeswehr,” he stated. Bastian Ernstspokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group for naval affairs in the Bundestag Defense Committee.
Last week, the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag approved funding for the project known as the “Unmanned Component of the Maritime Airborne Warfare System (uMAWS)”.
For a long time, the MOUSE was the name given to a Franco-German initiative to modernize maritime surveillance, but both parties were unable to agree on a common approach and Germany ended up acquiring the manned maritime surveillance aircraft P-8A Poseidon as a temporary solution to the MOUSE.
Photo: GA-ASI. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
