The German air force Heron TP UAV is operational and will enhance the country’s defense by using a long list of Israeli made systems. The Israeli made UAV was meant originally for German overseas operations but now will be used in order to protect the country.
In 2016, the Germans leased five Heron TP and another two for training in a deal valued at around 1 billion Euros. Later the deal has been expanded.
After a long debate, the German parliament approved to equip the UAV’s with dedicated weapon systems.
The war in Ukraine made Germany to reconsider its defence needs.
Last year Israel aerospace industries (IAI)  has signed what is defined as a  “Pivotal Agreement” with Germany . The agreement deals with the additional systems that are carried by the Heron TP strategic UAV to deploy cutting-edge Heron – TP UAVs as part of a comprehensive UAV deal for Germany .
The agreement encompasses not only the deployment of advanced UAV technology but also includes comprehensive updates and technological enhancements to the ground array of the systems.
in addressing the ever-evolving challenges in the defence sector.
Israeli sources said that the deal will enable to equip the strategic UAV’s with different weapon system and additional payloads and advanced systems that are designed to distribute the data collected by the UAV with many “clients .”
The IAI Heron TP is a multi-role, advanced, long range Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV for strategic missions. It is equipped with automatic taxi-takeoff and landing systems (ATOL), satellite communication (SATCOM) for extended range, fully redundant avionics and more.
The Heron TP was designed as a multi-mission platform to address local and international customers’ needs and to perform a variety of strategic missions, including intelligence gathering, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, using various payloads, with a high level of reliability.
The Heron TP has a max takeoff weight of 5670 kg. It can carry a payload of up to 2700 kg.
This UAV has a wingspan of 26 meters and a 30 hours endurance.
Sources here said that the added capabilities for the German Heron –TP will include different versions of the IAI Mission Operation and Intelligence Center (MOIC)
Centralized command and control is essential when engaged in UAV missions , to manage the huge amounts of data collected from observation, radar, COMINT and ELINT. IAI’s state-of-the-art Mission Operation and Intelligence Center (MOIC) is an all-in-one headquarters that meets these needs.
According to the Israeli company , MOIC’s modular layout, which includes mission operational cells, a commander cell, an exploitation center, a C2 cell, a full trainer, a SATCOM facility, a support facility and a data storage center, provides the ability to adjust the control center according to your specific operational needs.
By placing all pilots, mission operators, ISR analysts and decision makers at a single, central location, the MOIC provides a common operational picture and enables integrated management of multiple UAV platforms and payloads, or UAV fleet and manned platforms. In doing so, it maximizes the efficiency of mission flow and improves real-time operation and coordination of the fleet, while also improving safety and protecting ground assets.
The MOIC also conserves manpower and resources that would otherwise be required to process huge quantities of data from multiple offline and online sensors, processing it in real time, and archiving all raw and processed information for future analysis.Â
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