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Armed drone procurement has been controversial in past

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Army upgrade more urgent now amid Ukraine war, US

uncertainty

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Germany plans for long-term drone acquisition to enhance

defense

By Sabine Siebold

April 3 (Reuters) - The German military will be armed

with loitering munitions, or exploding drones, for the first

time, two defense ministry sources said on Thursday, as Berlin

tries to catch up with a technology that has shown its

destructive power in Ukraine.

Both Russia and Ukraine have fielded such single-use drones,

which cruise towards their target before plummeting at velocity

and detonating on impact.

But the procurement of armed drones has been controversial

in Germany, with some politicians associating them with targeted

extrajudicial killings by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

It took years of heated debate before parliament agreed in

2022 to enable a large drone such as the Heron TP,

which flies at much higher altitudes, to carry arms.

However, military upgrades are more urgent now for Germany,

amid the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine and doubts

about the future of U.S. military protection.

Last month, parliament approved plans for a defence spending

surge worth hundreds of billions of euros.

Contracts with two companies for a first batch of exploding

drones will be signed in the coming days, the sources said,

declining to name the companies. The army, air force and navy

will test them in the following months.

"The use of drones and the defence against drones is crucial

for the survival of our troops on the modern battlefield, that's

something we learned in Ukraine," said one of the sources, who

spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Each soldier must be capable of operating drones, just as

today, everybody knows how to use binoculars."

Germany will aim to sign longer-term contracts by the end of

the year for a larger number of drones, shortening the period

for introducing new weapons which usually takes years.

As drone technology evolves rapidly, the deals will specify

that companies supply a limited number initially for training

purposes, and that they may be asked later to supply a larger

number of the latest models at short notice, if needed.

"There's no use in purchasing thousands of drones ... only

to realise they are outdated by the time we need them," one of

the sources said.