Using drones: principles, tactics and results (amended title)

[Firn]

Just a short comment about the EuroHawk...

That bit is just pure gold, if true.

The contracts with the Americans were filled with oddities. For instance, Northrop Grumman was not required to disclose all blueprints for the drone, even though this is necessary to obtain flight certification from German aviation authorities.

In addition, German drone pilots were not given the right to fly the Euro Hawk. Instead, the German Defense Ministry had to ask Northrop Grumman for permission to fly the drone. Only when a pilot sat down at the computer in California could the drone take off in Germany. This is still the case today and, as a result, the German pilots trained specifically to fly the Euro Hawk sit around doing nothing. To keep their pilot's licenses from expiring, they fly training flights on Lufthansa training jets -- at the government's expense.

I'm surprised that anybody would accept such contracts. Northrop likely had a lot of internal red flags but was rightly quite happy that other side rather foolishly accepted. Still it is overall not good news for them, as their reputations as a reliable and trustworthy partner in the drone business was certainly not enhanced.

From a German point of view it surprises me a bit that after relative small drones they went very high-end, which makes point 2 not quite relevant. More internal knowhow would have certainly helped them. Bloody expensive stuff in either case, if the numbers are true:

In 2011, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) expressed interest in acquiring at least four RQ-4B and support equipment to increase intelligence capabilities following the exchange of the Wartime Operational Control from the U.S. to the Republic of Korea. Government officials debated on the topic of the Global Hawks and its own domestic UAV programs.[78] In September 2011, the US and South Korea discussed aircraft deployments near its border with North Korea to view North Korea and the North Korea–China border.[79] In January 2012, DAPA announced that it would not proceed with a purchase due to a price rise from US$442M to US$899M, and that other platforms such as the Global Observer or the Phantom Eye were being investigated.[80] However, in December 2012, South Korea notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale of 4 RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk UAVs with the Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS) at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion.[81]

(From Wikipedia)