ISRAEL: German pilots are trained by Israelis on how to use new spy drones bound for Afghanistan

Record ID: 396841

  • Title: ISRAEL: German pilots are trained by Israelis on how to use new spy drones bound for Afghanistan
  • Date: 28th July 2010
  • Summary: EIN SHEMER AIR BASE, ISRAEL (JULY 26, 2010) (REUTERS) HERON SPY DRONE ON TARMAC LUFTWAFFE EMBLEM ON HERON INTERIOR OF HERON CLOSE ON SURVEILLANCE CAMERA ON DRONE HERON DRONE GERMAN FLAG PAINTED ON DRONE (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN LUFTWAFFE PILOT IN TRAINING NAMED AS 'MAJOR C', SAYING: "It's a huge support because then we can do finally intelligence, reconnaissanc
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVAD4EAE4T9AMK7O253RK4XZOB51
  • Story Text: As World War Two was fought in the years before Israel's founding, British planes were scrambled from Palestine to fend off German forces.
    Now the Luftwaffe is flying from the same soil, preparing for a far more remote fight with the help of Jewish state's modern equipment and expertise.
    Worried by insurgent ambushes on its soldiers in Afghanistan and return fire that sometimes kills civilians or local allies, Germany last year ordered a small fleet of Israeli Heron spy drones designed to provide real-time images above a battlefield.
    That has brought German jet pilots to coastal Ein Shemer air base for accelerated retraining on the unmanned propellor planes, already daubed with their flag and Iron Cross emblem.
    One Luftwaffe major, known only as 'Major C' due to military secrecy, said the drones would be invaluable in protecting ground troops and convoys.
    "It's a huge support because then we can do finally intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance right over the battlefields in real life, so we support the troops and we can support convoys driving around in real time," he said.
    Israel is a pioneer of combat drones, having deployed them in Lebanon and Palestinian territories.
    While the United States regularly conducts drone air strikes in Afghanistan and on suspected insurgent bases in neighbouring Pakistan, its allies are generally limited to using the planes for unarmed surveillance.
    This is especially true for Germany, which though having the third-biggest NATO Afghan contingent -- some 4,300 personnel -- often appears uncomfortable with being involved in hostilities while World War Two is still a living memory 'Major T' used to fly a Tornado on Afghan reconnaissance missions. He said spy drones like the Heron could have a huge impact on surveillance operations.
    "So you know in Afghanistan it's really hard to compare the good guys from the bad guys, so you have to survey them a long time until you can say 'ok maybe he's kind of suspicious person so maybe we should investigate it a longer time or not', so that's the main reason why we have the Heron there," he said.
    The fact Israeli know-how may now be saving German military lives offers up a unique historical irony lost on none.
    The Defence Ministry in Berlin declined to allow the Luftwaffe trainees to be interviewed about such symbolism, but Tomer Koriat, deputy director of the IAI training project said the issue had been on the minds of all Israelis involved in the training.
    But he said his team had learned to respect and like their German trainees.
    "How do I feel about this issue, us supporting the Germans? From the beginning of the project 'till today all of us have learned that today we are talking about another Germany than what we used to know," he said.
    Each Heron costs around 10 million U.S. dollars, depending on the sophistication of its onboard equipment and the ground control booth. In a boon for spartan Afghan crews, the drone is designed to land and take off automatically.
    Maintenance, which Israeli technicians cannot readily provide in the Islamic republic, is being provided by a German partner firm, Rheinmetall Defence.
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