The Budget Committee of the German Bundestag on November 4, 2026, approved six Bundeswehr procurement projects, including a supplementary buy of armament for the German Heron TP medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system, portable troposcatter communications systems and improved radar components for the Luftwaffe’s Eurofighter Tranche 4 fleet. According to the German Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg), all six projects are financed from the defence budget.
Each item passed under Germany’s 25-million-euro procedure, which requires parliamentary approval for any procurement above that threshold. The ministry did not disclose the value, quantities or contractors for any of the six projects. The package follows the reorientation of the Bundeswehr from expeditionary crisis management toward national and alliance defence.
Heron TP Armament and Eurofighter ECRS Mk1 Radar Upgrade
The committee cleared the supplementary procurement of armament for the German Heron TP. Per the BMVg, the system was originally intended mainly for international conflict prevention and crisis management but is now geared toward the Bundeswehr’s core mission of national and alliance defence. The ministry lists a 26-meter wingspan, a 1.6-tonne payload and an endurance of up to 27 hours.
The decision builds on the committee’s April 6, 2022, approval of about €152.6 million for 140 missiles, 60 of them for training, as reported in Germany at the time. Those precision-guided munitions were never officially identified. The Heron TP is built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and leased to Germany with Airbus Defence and Space as prime contractor. The BMVg has not stated the type, quantity or cost of the munitions covered by the new approval, nor whether the buy replenishes training stocks or expands the war reserve.
The Bundeswehr may also order an improved radar processor and power supply for the German-Spanish E-Scan radar Mk1 on Eurofighter Tranche 4, the 38-aircraft program known as Quadriga. The radar, the Eurofighter Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk1 developed by Hensoldt and Indra, is an active electronically scanned array (AESA). According to the ministry, the new hardware delivers markedly higher computing power which, combined with the antenna and multichannel receiver, will raise radar performance across all modes and give Tranche 4 the most modern hardware build standard of the radar.
The amendment to the four-nation production contract affects only the German and Spanish production programs, not those of Italy and the United Kingdom. The first German Tranche 4 aircraft made its maiden flight from Airbus’ Manching facility in July 2026. The ministry gave no date for installing the new radar hardware.
Troposcatter, Night Sights and DM58 Rounds for German Land Forces
Troposcatter, or tropospheric scatter, is an over-the-horizon directional radio technique in which emitted waves are scattered back by the troposphere, allowing data transmission without line of sight. The BMVg said the portable systems will strengthen the resilience of the Tactical Wide Area Network (TaWAN) and sustain command capability in difficult terrain. The TaWAN Land-Based Operations (TaWAN LBO) project links deployable and mobile facilities and connects them to the Digitalization of Land-Based Operations (D-LBO) network.
The committee also approved compact clip-on image intensifier attachments for riflescopes on medium-range small arms. The devices run 24 hours on battery power and allow G36 and G95 assault rifles and the MG4 machine gun to identify people at several hundred meters in darkness or low light.
Further protected, highly mobile Role 2 medical facilities will be called off from an existing framework agreement, supplementing systems ordered last year. Each facility combines eleven ballistically protected vehicles with ballistically protected multifunction containers that remain mounted during operation, providing emergency surgery and intensive care to NATO standards close to mechanized forces. The ministry acknowledged the Bundeswehr does not yet have this capability; first deliveries are due from 2027.
The final item covers 30 x 173 mm DM58 TP-T (Training Practice-Tracer) rounds for the Puma tracked infantry fighting vehicle, the Schakal wheeled infantry fighting vehicle and the Heavy Weapon Carrier Infantry, supporting gunnery and combat training for armored units.
Analysis: The package targets sustainment and enablers rather than headline platforms. Munitions for a drone once restricted to unarmed reconnaissance, processing power for the Luftwaffe’s newest fighters, beyond-line-of-sight links for a dispersed land network and forward surgical care the Bundeswehr admits it lacks all address whether German forces committed to NATO’s eastern flank can fight and sustain themselves. The routine handling of Heron TP armament, a question that divided German politics until 2022, also shows how far the domestic debate on armed MALE drones has moved.
Key unknowns remain the munition type and volume for the Heron TP, the troposcatter supplier and the financial value of all six projects. The next visible milestones are the integration of the new ECRS Mk1 hardware on Tranche 4 aircraft and the first deliveries of the protected Role 2 facilities, expected from 2027.