Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on October 2 that the German Army will set up a first independent drone regiment next year, assigned to the 10th Panzer Division. The announcement came during the Minister’s visit to Army’s experimental event in Wietzendorf.
The new unit will have an establishment of around 600 personnel and will comprise a Electromagnetic Warfare company as well as Counter-Drone capabilities such as interceptors. But its main focus would seem to be on long range strike capabilities, with the aim to reach up to 500km.
Indeed, at the same event, the Inspector of the German Army, Lieutenant General Christian Freuding, specified that 500 km is the current range that is being considered as boundary for the Division’s Deep Fight. He went on to specify that 500 km are “not the last word” in terms of tactics or technological possibilities, but that they represent the new target.
Until recently, the depth for a brigade was given as 75 km, with Divisions reaching to 150 and the Corps to 300. The jump to 500 km for the Division represents a massive leap which will presumably have wider effects on equipment projects beyond the drone regiment. For example, we would expect plans for new missiles for the rocket artillery batteries (Joint Fire Support Missile) to similarly shift from the so-far indicated 300 km to 500 km and beyond.
It is to be assumed that the Drone Regiment will thus receive whatever One Way Effector emerges from the “One Way Effector 500 Plus (OWE 500+)” initiative that was launched in February by the Defence Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom on the sidelines of the Munich security conference.
The Drone Regiment will also serve as a centralized test and experimentation unit which should accelerate feedback collection and tactical developments. The build-up will be gradual, with some 300 soldiers initially. The base for the new Regiment has not yet been selected: the decision will be heavily influenced by proximity to suitable exercise spaces.
The roll-out of uncrewed capabilities in other units will continue in parallel. In particular, initiatives are underway for Jäger (BOXER-mounted infantry) battalions, Reconnaissance units and Tank battalions, with a number of systems to come around the turn of the year. Freuding also said he was “optimistic” that C-UAS capability could be built into Panzer Brigade 45 before it is fully deployed into Lithuania.
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