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.
According to a report by the German website Hartpunkt, each system consists of two MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, in addition to 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. This amount, drawn from special funds and the regular budget, includes spare parts and other services such as flight crew training for an initial two-year operating period.
The acquisition 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 information, 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 the United Kingdom and Canada, which also operate this type of aircraft.
“I consider the timelines ambitious, but in my view the systems will make a significant contribution to the Bundeswehr’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities,” said Bastian Ernst, spokesperson for naval affairs of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group on the Bundestag’s Defense Committee.
Last week, the German Bundestag’s Budget Committee approved funding for the project known as the “Unmanned Component of the Maritime Airborne Warfare System (uMAWS).”
For a long time, MAWS was the name given to a Franco-German initiative to modernize maritime surveillance, but both sides failed to reach agreement on a common approach, and Germany ultimately acquired the manned maritime patrol aircraft P-8A Poseidon as an interim solution for MAWS.
Photo: GA-ASI. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
