Germany mulls purchasing Israeli attack drones

A recent report says Germany is engaged in talks with the Israeli regime to buy assassination drones that are apparently more cutting-edge and technologically advanced than their US-made Predator rivals.

The German defense ministry proposed the purchase several months ago. German officials have already held two meetings with Israeli military officials – once in November 2012 and another time in February 2013, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Sunday.

In February, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere said his country planned to integrate attack drones within its air force.

Meanwhile, the chief of Germany’s air force, Lieutenant General Karl Muellner, recently traveled to Israel to participate in a demonstration of the Israeli-built Heron TP drone.

Over the past couple of years, the issue of using unmanned drones in actual combat has sparked off an ethical and moral debate within the German society.

Germany has only deployed drones for surveillance and reconnaissance missions in places such as Afghanistan.

Germany has in the past expressed interest in developing drone technology with France in order to avoid dependency on the US or Israeli unmanned aircraft.