Germany plans to buy three Northrop Grumman-built Triton unmanned aerial vehicles from the U.S. Navy for use in signal intelligence operations of its armed forces, Defense News reported Wednesday.
The inspector general with Germany’s armed forces Bundeswehr said the country’s military aims to procure the first Triton UAV in 2025 and the other two drones by 2026, Lars Hoffmann wrote.
The report said the drones will feature the Hensoldt-made Isis, a SIGINT platform designed to intercept enemy communications and detect hostile aerial radar at a high altitude.
A spokesman for Germany’s defense ministry noted that the German federal aviation administration will be given access to results and documents related to the drone’s U.S. approval process, the report added.