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Reuters
03-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
German military to order exploding drones for first time, sources say
April 3 (Reuters) - The German military will be armed with loitering munitions, or exploding drones, for the first time, two defense ministry sources said on Thursday, as Berlin tries to catch up with a technology that has shown its destructive power in Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukraine have fielded such single-use drones, which cruise towards their target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact. But the procurement of armed drones has been controversial in Germany, with some politicians associating them with targeted extrajudicial killings by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It took years of heated debate before parliament agreed in 2022 to enable a large drone such as the Heron TP ( which flies at much higher altitudes, to carry arms. However, military upgrades are more urgent now for Germany, amid the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine and doubts about the future of U.S. military protection. Last month, parliament approved plans for a defence spending surge worth hundreds of billions of euros. Contracts with two companies for a first batch of exploding drones will be signed in the coming days, the sources said, declining to name the companies. The army, air force and navy will test them in the following months. "The use of drones and the defence against drones is crucial for the survival of our troops on the modern battlefield, that's something we learned in Ukraine," said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Each soldier must be capable of operating drones, just as today, everybody knows how to use binoculars." Germany will aim to sign longer-term contracts by the end of the year for a larger number of drones, shortening the period for introducing new weapons which usually takes years. As drone technology evolves rapidly, the deals will specify that companies supply a limited number initially for training purposes, and that they may be asked later to supply a larger number of the latest models at short notice, if needed. "There's no use in purchasing thousands of drones ... only to realise they are outdated by the time we need them," one of the sources said.
Reuters
13-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Israel Aerospace sales, profit jump in 2024 during war
JERUSALEM, March 13 (Reuters) - State-run Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) ( reported a 55% rise in profit for 2024, saying it was its best year ever and citing sales gains to both Israel's military and to foreign customers. IAI, one of Israel's largest defence contractors, said it earned a net $493 million last year, up from $318 million in 2023. Revenue increased 15.5% to $6.1 billion. here. Exports rose to $4.3 billion from $3.8 billion, although they comprised 66% of sales, down from 71% in 2023. With Israel fighting wars on multiple fronts, sales in the Israeli market increased to $2.1 billion from $1.5 billion, with its share increasing to 34% of sales from 29%. IAI's order backlog jumped to $25 billion from $18 billion, reflecting four years of operation at current capacity. IAI President and CEO Boaz Levy said the significant gain in contracts was a vote of confidence in Israel's technological leadership. "2024 was entirely managed alongside unprecedented fighting in Israel and IAI faced numerous global challenges that affected its performance," Levy said, adding the company was still able to "meet enhanced supply quotas to guarantee the satisfaction of our customers and meet our obligations." For the fourth quarter, IAI recorded largely flat net profit of 77 million shekels, while sales rose 18% to $1.7 billion. Its main rival, Elbit Systems ( opens new tab, is due to issue its earnings report next week.
