High-altitude UAV system will take over SIGINT role
Germany's air force expects to receive funding approval from the country's parliament later this year to proceed with its planned procurement of the EADS/Northrop Grumman Eurohawk high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned air vehicle system.
The design is the preferred replacement for Germany's three Breguet Atlantic signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft, which must be retired by 2010. "Germany views the Eurohawk as a suitable platform for SIGINT by 2008," says Col Werner Nemetschek, chief of unmanned operations, adding that the Northrop RQ-4B Global Hawk variant could also deliver future imagery intelligence services.
Eurohawk will be a key part of Germany's future intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, along with the planned Euromale medium-altitude UAV system and five SAR-Lupe radar satellites, the first of which will be launched early next year. If approved by parliament, the programme will advance to a risk-reduction and one-year test phase ahead of a production decision.
The air force's first Eurohawk system will be assembled at EADS's Manching site near Munich before moving to Schleswig airbase for payload trials. Schleswig is also expected to house the Euromale UAVs and a squadron of Panavia Tornado reconnaissance aircraft.
German armed forces conducted an assessment of an RQ-4A Global Hawk in late 2003 from Nordholz airbase using an EADS-supplied electronic intelligence payload and ground station. Germany's ability to fully support and nationally modify ISR systems such as the Eurohawk and Euromale will be vital if it is to complete their procurement, says Nemetschek.
EADS and Northrop are meanwhile "within days" of signing an agreement to set up Eurohawk GmbH as a single point of contact for Germany's acquisition of the HALE system.
Source: Flight International
