The Bundeswehr sets up frameworks for micro drones

Two recently concluded framework agreements enable the Bundeswehr to procure commercially available micro drones for training and deployment more easily. According to a communication from the Bundeswehr Procurement Office BAAINBw on December 3 on the European online procurement platform TED, two framework agreements for the delivery of commercially available micro-drones (sUAS) have been concluded for the years 2025 and 2026. According to the communication, the drone dealers Droneparts GmbH and Dronivo GmbH were selected over numerous other providers in a competition.

Purchasing commercially available drones and using them for training and operations is nothing new. Hartpunkt reported in January 2024 that commanders of army units have been allowed to do this since the end of 2023. However, the drones must be paid for from the “Flexible Budget Funds for Commanders” – also known as “Hand Money for Commanders” – from which many other decentralized procurement projects are financed. Depending on the type of drone, the annual hand money available is only enough to purchase a single system. In addition, this procurement route also requires a formal framework in which different offers must be obtained, making it far more complex than a simple trip to the electronics market.

As the BAAINBw explained in response to hartpunkt’s query, this should be much easier in the future, as the troops can now call up certain drones directly from the framework agreement. Financing will not be done via an advance payment. “In principle, the route of decentralized procurement of commercially available drones with the advance payment ‘Kdr’ remains. However, the framework agreements make the procurement process much easier, as an award procedure does not have to be carried out for every purchase. Only the call from the framework agreements is required. Financing will be done centrally, outside of the advance payment ‘Kdr’ procedure,” a spokesperson for the BAAINBw told hartpunkt.

Micro-drones for training and missions

Two Ukrainian soldiers from the 112th Battalion of the Territorial Defence Force training with a DJI Matrice 300. The widespread use of micro drones means that armed forces must prepare to face them, and learn how to make the most of them. Credit: Mil.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Two drone types  can be bought under the framework; Autel Evo Max 4T and DJI Matrice 30. They cost five to ten thousand euros on the open market and are therefore more likely to be systems for professional use. Although both systems are produced by Chinese manufacturers, they are on the so-called Blue List because the German suppliers modify the systems so that they meet the information security specifications required of them. “The two systems in the framework agreements are Chinese products that are adapted by German companies to meet the contractually required information security requirements. The products therefore meet the same information security requirements as those on the Blue List. Due to the adaptations, they are not white list products, even if the product names are included in the white list. When white list products are procured decentrally, no modification of the products takes place,” the BAAINBw spokesperson told hartpunkt.

To explain: Drones that are on the so-called white list may only be used for certain training purposes – for example, enemy representation. Blue list drones, on the other hand, may also be taken on missions.

Both the Autel Evo Max 4T and the DJI Matrice 30 are classic copter micro drones, whose flight time is around 40 minutes according to the manufacturer. Both systems have a sensor package that consists of a combination of optical cameras and a laser rangefinder. The Autel Evo Max 4T drone also has a thermal imaging camera.

What is interesting in this context is the chosen approach of putting the modification of the drones – adjustments to the software and data exchange – into third-party hands and relying on contractually agreed assurances. Since such drones are used not only by the German army but also by many other NATO and EU armies as well as other authorities with security tasks, synergies could certainly be achieved here while at the same time increasing the level of security if the desired software adjustments were carried out centrally by a state-certified and managed body.

This article, written by Waldemar Geiger, was originally published by hartpunkt on 5th December 2024.  Hartpunkt and Calibre are collaborating to bring you the best content from across Europe.