Schlagwort: Drones

Germany’s rescue drone will not fly in the Mediterranean

Unmanned systems could help to rescue shipwrecked boats in the Mediterranean. However, a new German sea rescue drone is only to be used in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

Under the name „LARUS“, the German Government develops drones for the rescue of ships in distress. The abbreviation of the drone stands for „Situation support during sea rescue operations by unmanned aeronautical systems“. The system is financed from civil security research funds, for which the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is paying 2.8 million euros.

Several German manufacturers of optical sensors and communications technology, including Deutsche Telekom, are involved in the development under the direction of the Technical University of Dortmund. Because the drone is to be used for sea rescue in Germany, the German Shipwreck Rescue Association and the Federal Maritime Police Inspectorate based in Warnemünde are also on board of the project. „Germany’s rescue drone will not fly in the Mediterranean“ weiterlesen

EU Military in the Mediterranean: Mission accomplished

EUNAVFOR MED and Frontex now fly for Libyan Coast Guard

The European Union only wants to observe sea rescue operations off Libya from the air and no longer send its own ships. The warships involved in the EUNAVFOR MED military mission are therefore being withdrawn, while the operation is „strengthening surveillance by air assets“. With this decision, the EU Member States have temporarily settled a dispute with the government in Rome. Italy’s Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini does not want EUNAVFOR MED to let rescued persons come to Italy. The head of Lega is calling for their disembarkation in all the other states that take part in the mission with planes, ships or submarines. Since EUNAVFOR MED was founded, its ships have taken around 49,000 people on board. Almost all were disembarked in Italian ports. „EU Military in the Mediterranean: Mission accomplished“ weiterlesen

Fight against small drones: Police use military technology

The police and military are increasingly confronted with the unwanted use of commercially available drones. For countermeasures, they must be quickly detected and analyzed. German arms companies have developed various methods to then combat the aircrafts.

Every year, around one million small drones are sold in the USA and Europe alone. This figure was quoted last week by the Deputy Director of the German Federal Armed Forces Aircraft Technical Service (WTD 61) during a technical demonstration at the department’s headquarters in Manching. This refers to multicopters with four or more rotors carrying a camera or other sensors, sometimes also called unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

In Germany, the owner’s data must be affixed to a sticker on the device. In many countries, however, the sale or use of unmanned systems is not regulated, which can also make them a „terrorist tool“ for the military in the field. The German government writes that small UAV’s have „proven to be a versatile technical aid in the planning, execution and evaluation of operations by terrorist organisations“. In the meantime they have been used for „airborne reconnaissance and espionage, to identify potential weak points in the run-up to attacks as well as to direct plunging fire“. „Fight against small drones: Police use military technology“ weiterlesen

Airbus to build the „Eurodrone“

To fly in European airspace, large military drones need a „Detect and Avoid“ system. The „Eurodrone“ could therefore be equipped with „American technology“.

Only „one final production line“ is to be set up for the the „Eurodrone“. This was announced by the German Ministry of Defense on Tuesday. According to the current status, the plant will be located at Airbus. As the „future general contractor“, the ars group is to submit an offer and a detailed program plan by April 2019. Italian, French and Spanish defence companies could then act as suppliers and produce, for example, wings, engines or avionics.

The „Eurodrone“ is a project of the German, French and Italian governments, to which Spain later also joined. The drone can be equipped with both rockets and surveillance technology. The development is to be finally decided before the end of this year. „Airbus to build the „Eurodrone““ weiterlesen

German military drone program in Israel operating as „Red Baron“

German soldiers train on a base near Tel Aviv first with Israeli drones. The delivery of the aircrafts with the German „Iron Cross“ takes place earlier than planned.

For the stationing of its drones in Israel, the Bundeswehr moved into an area on the Israeli air base Tel Nof on Monday. The cooperation runs under the name „Red Baron“, writes the German Air Force on its website. The name was chosen by the Israeli military. It honors the pilot Manfred von Richthofen. Which intention the Israeli air force pursues with the naming is unclear. As a combat pilot, von Richthofen achieved the highest number of air victories in the First World War. It is therefore reasonable that Israel expects the German drones to be armed soon. However, a further resolution of the Bundestag is necessary for this. Parts of the peace movement call on the members of parliament to vote on this in a decision of conscience. „German military drone program in Israel operating as „Red Baron““ weiterlesen

Study: Drones are mostly negatively associated

The German Aerospace Center is involved in numerous projects involving civil and military drones. The focus is increasingly on their use by authorities and organizations with security tasks. Reason enough for the institute to increase their acceptance. Drones should therefore remain more in the public discussion.

Women are rather sceptical about the civilian use of drones in Germany, while men predominantly agree with the use of the technology. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Institute for Applied Social Research (infas) on the acceptance of unmanned aerial vehicles.

For the representative survey, telephone interviews were conducted with 832 people aged between 14 and 94. Only 27% of the young interviewees expressed concern, while the figure for senior citizens was 65%. „Study: Drones are mostly negatively associated“ weiterlesen