German parliament committee backs Israeli drones leasing plan
Plan comes months after Merkel's SPD party agreed to postpone a final decision until parliament voted on the issue, which was resisted by junior coalition party because drones could be armed in the future; PM: ‘The giant deal is an expression of the strategic partnership between Germany and Israel.'
Germany's parliamentary budget committee on Wednesday backed plans by the military to lease Israeli-built Heron-TP surveillance drones in a deal valued at around 1 billion euros ($1.18 billion), committee sources said.
The deal had run into resistance last year from the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's grand coalition, because the drones, also know as the Eitan, could be armed in the future.
The German military currently uses a different model of Heron drones that cannot be armed.
Merkel's conservatives and the SPD agreed in a new coalition accord in February to lease the drones, built by Israel Aerospace Industries, through 2027, but to defer a decision on any future arming until after parliament had debated the issue.
The plans includes two separate contracts—one with Airbus , which will manage the drone program, and one with the Israeli government to cover training, infrastructure and logistics for the planes, which will be stationed in Israel.
The leasing program is intended as a temporary solution until a European drone is ready for use around 2025.
Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, chief of staff of the German air force, said the deal would allow significantly better protection of German troops.
The Greens party voted against the plan, saying that 50 million euros of the contract were already earmarked for a technical preparation for future use with weapons.
"The big promised debate about the arming of the drones is a farce given what's already included in this contract," said Greens lawmaker Tobias Lindner, a member of the budget committee.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended the German government and parliament for approving the deal.
"This is a great contribution to the Israeli security industry and to the Israeli economy. The 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," a statement said.
As part of the agreement, Israel is also expected to train about 100 soldiers from the German army, the Bundeswehr at the Tel Nof Air Force Base, where the 201th White Eagle Squadron operates the UAV.
While German soldiers have already arrived in Israel to undergo training for operating the UAV, their presence will remain permanent for the duration of the lease plan.
The exact details of their stay in the country have yet to be finalized and will likely not be until 2019. Furthermore, as Israel takes in the German troops, Berlin is expected to pay Israel’s Defense Ministry $200 million to cover costs for the use of the air base and for IDF training.
Germany’s Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that the Bundeswehr is extremely satisfied with the drone which has been used for intelligence gathering for years in Afghanistan and Mali, where German soldiers serve. According to Von der Leyen, the drone will allow for greater protection of German forces.
