Inside the training building, pilots and instructors sit behind controls and computer screens. A map and the view from the drone's cameras are displayed in front of each pilot. German pilot Major T used to fly a Tornado plane in Afghanistan. He says the drones could have a huge impact.

"So you know in Afghanistan it's really hard to compare the good guys from the bad guys," said Major T. "So you have to surveil them a long time until you can say 'okay, maybe he's kind of a suspicious person, so maybe we should investigate it a longer time or not.' So that's the main reason why we have the Heron there."

Israel is one of the pioneers of combat drones, having used the remote-controlled aircraft in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. The United States, Canada, France, Australia and Spain also use drones in Afghanistan.

But Israeli experts training German pilots at an airbase that Britain's RAF used to fight the Germans in World War II is an historical irony not lost on Tomer Koriat, the deputy director of the training project. Koriat says his team has a great deal of respect for their German students.

"How do I feel about this issue, us supporting the Germans? From the beginning of the project till today all of us have learned that today we are talking about another Germany than what we used to know," said Koriat.

Each of the Heron drones costs about $10 million, depending on how it is equipped. Because Afghanistan is an Islamic republic, Israeli mechanics will not be able to provide maintenance. A German partner - Rheinmetall Defence - will maintain the aircraft once they are deployed.