OREANDA-NEWSGermany abandoned reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) MQ-4C Triton manufactured by the American corporation Northrop Grumman. This was announced on Tuesday by the profile German edition.

According to the publication, the German government decided to abandon the purchase of a batch of Triton drones worth $ 2.5 billion and to buy instead electronic reconnaissance aircraft (RER) based on the Bombardier Global 6000 airliner. The main reason for the refusal to purchase expensive drones, according to the publication, was the conviction of German officials in the UAV's inability to achieve compliance with the safety standards necessary for flying in European airspace by 2025.

"Also, the cost of Triton has increased significantly compared with previous estimates", the publication said, citing an official representative of the German Ministry of Defense. At the same time, the RER aircraft are based on a civilian aircraft and can be operated in European airspace without any restrictions, the newspaper said.

In April 2018, the U.S. Agency for Defense Cooperation and Security notified Germany of a request for the purchase of four MQ-4C Triton UAVs and one ground control system totaling about $ 2.5 billion. It was assumed that Germany would receive a modernized version of the UAV used by the U.S. Navy.