After walking away from a $700 million investment into the development of its own variant of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial system (UAS) and a subsequent attempt to sell the rarely-flown UAS, Germany is putting its Euro Hawk drone into a museum.
The decision was first reported by German military commentary blog Augen geradeaus! which cited a freedom of information inquiry.
The decision to display the drone at the Berlin-Gatow military museum is the conclusion of Germany’s years-long quest to find a buyer for the sole Euro Hawk it received under a contract that would have seen the country receive five units.
Following a planned redesign of the military history museum in Berllin, visitors should be able to see the Euro Hawk from 2022.
A combination of lengthy delays and complications with airworthiness certifications, forced Germany to cancel the program in 2013.
Since then, it has also looked at buying the MQ-4C Triton unmanned surveillance airplanes, but has decided against this option due to costs. Instead of unmanned solutions, the country is now planning to buy Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft that would also be able to fly in civilian traffic with less restrictions compared to unmanned solutions.
What is more, Germany announced last month that it is starting a completely new “Eurodrone UAS” program that will be undertaken in cooperation with France, Italy and Spain.
