Germany’s Defense Ministry bans military use of Chinese-made drones
The restriction includes training and target practice; the ministry says existing systems will be replaced with German or, where appropriate, European products.
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Germany’s Defense Ministry has confirmed that the Bundeswehr, the country’s military, will stop using Chinese-made drones, including for training and target practice. Existing systems are to be replaced with German or, where appropriate, European products.
The military had previously used relatively inexpensive Chinese-made drones for tasks considered not to involve security-sensitive matters. It is unclear how many it had used before the restriction.
Risk assessment and replacements
The ministry said the decision was based on an individual risk assessment intended to protect military, data and information technology security, Reuters said. It also cited stronger self-sufficiency and technological sovereignty as reasons for the move. It added that there were no blanket bans on the use of systems from particular countries.
The Bundeswehr can continue to buy inexpensive, off-the-shelf drones for training with minimal bureaucratic effort.
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