A German court on Wednesday dismissed a legal challenge from U.S. weapons maker General Atomics to Germany's plans to lease armed drones from Israel Aerospace Industries, clearing the way for the drone program to move forward. Early last year, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced that the German army would lease Heron TP drones for about 580 million euros ($652 million), instead of buying Predator B drones from General Atomics or Switzerland's RUAG. The German parliament still has to approve the plan. IAI's Heron series of medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles includes the Heron TP, a reconnaissance drone with all-weather capability, automatic takeoff and landing systems, and triple-redundant avionics. The Heron TP has been procured by several militaries worldwide, most recently by India. General Atomics said it filed the legal challenge "to ensure that this procurement is conducted as a fair and open competition; thereby ensuring that the German Defense Ministry procures the most technologically superior and cost-efficient solution." According to Defense News, with the court ruling dismissing General Atomics' claim that the deal undermined fairness in competition, the German Defense Ministry can award a contract to the IAI. The drone, intended to enhance the German military's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, can optionally carry precision weapons, which makes it a highly sensitive project in Germany, the report said. Duesseldorf Higher Court Judge Heinz-Peter Dicks said the ruling was effective immediately and means that Germany can now procure drones as it had planned. The drone leasing plan has been intended as an interim measure until the EU develops its own drone. Germany, France, Italy and Spain plan to jointly develop a drone by 2025.
