Germany Evaluates New SIGINT Airframes

The German military is considering four variants for a new signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft to replace the scrapped Eurohawk UAV project. The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support has come up with manned and unmanned solutions.

An unnamed source in security circles told Defense News that three variants are supposed to carry the new Integrated Signal Intelligence System (ISIS) developed under Airbus, formerly EADS, for the Eurohawk.

These variants could include a medium-range passenger aircraft the size of an Airbus A319, a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV like the Predator, or a business jet the size of a Bombardier Global, the source said.

The German Air Force does operate two Airbus 319CJ corporate jetliners, four bombardier Global 5000 jets, and has discussed acquiring the Predator

An existing SIGINT solution without the ISIS system also is being evaluated.

The four proposals are being evaluated by the German Defense Ministry. The chief of staff, Gen. Volker Wieker, is supposed to get the results by the end of January. Germany’s old SIGINT planes are based on the Breuget Atlantique airframe, which were supposed to be replaced by four Eurohawks. The Eurohawk was built by Northrop Grumman in cooperation with EADS and is based on the Global Hawk UAV.

However, the project was scrapped in May, about two years after the prototype had been delivered. Massive problems in licensing the vehicle for European airspace and a possible explosion of costs were cited as the primary reasons. So far, up to €600 million (US $812.75 million) had been spent on the project. [via]