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Israeli Heron TP drone, which is also to be delivered to the Bundeswehr
Photo: Abir Sultan / dpa
Regardless of the resistance of the SPD, Bundeswehr Inspector General Eberhard Zorn calls for the rapid purchase of combat drones.
"From my point of view, the military need for an armed drone remains unchanged," said the highest-ranking soldier in an interview with "Welt am Sonntag".
The coalition is currently arguing about the procurement of armed drones for the Bundeswehr.
The CDU / CSU is in favor, the Social Democrats postponed a decision for years - and agreed in mid-December to want to discuss the issue again in principle.
That is why it will probably no longer be decided in this legislative period.
Zorn said the acquisition was necessary to protect the soldiers and to improve their capabilities on the ground.
"And not at some point, but in the missions abroad that we are experiencing today," he said.
"Otherwise I will force our troops into cover and condemn them to inactivity instead of allowing them to act actively."
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Bundeswehr Inspector General Eberhard Zorn (archive)
Photo: Thomas Imo / photothek.net / imago images / photothek
Azerbaijan used armed drones against Armenia in the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the Caucasus.
With them they destroyed Armenian tanks and positions and bombed Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Zorn emphasized that the use of combat drones as attack weapons, as in Nagorno-Karabakh, "would not be done by the Bundeswehr."
Their use would be subject to clear rules that Parliament would have "approved" and "defined".
For him, the conclusion from the conflict between the two ex-Soviet republics in the South Caucasus was different anyway: "We urgently need to improve our air defense capabilities." Could transport explosives
Both mean a growing threat to land forces in the future, said Zorn.
“We need defensive systems that protect our troops against such attacks.
We have to close this skill gap quickly. "
Inspector General Eberhard Zorn is the superior of all armed forces and military advisor to the federal government.
As the highest representative of the military, he is also part of the management of the Ministry of Defense.
Icon: The mirror
jpz / dpa / AFP
