Bundeswehr this January has recorded six sightings of aerial drones over a "particularly sensitive" military site in Germany. According to an internal report quoted by Süddeutsche Zeitung, the suspicious activity was observed at an air base near the North Sea where personnel from Ukraine were training to operate the Patriot air/missile defense system, Spiegel reports.
The German military tried using jamming equipment but couldn't land the drones. The attempts to locate the pilots were unsuccessful either. The top suspect is the russian federation, although it remains unconfirmed.
Read more: Bundeswehr Admits There's No Solution to russian Drones Spying German Military Bases
Defense Express notes, this is far from the first time unknown UAVs loiter near military and critical infrastructure in Germany, and such incidents have become routine ever since the Federal Government arranged special training courses for the Ukrainian military personnel in the country. Drone alarm reports date back to at least October 2022, when all the response was limited to electronic suppression attempts using HP 47 portable jammer guns by local police.
Noteworthy, in January 2025 they still rely on EW measures: the same HP 47 device is mentioned among the equipment Germans tried to against drones over Patriot sites in the Süddeutsche Zeitung report.
Illicit drone activity was also seen over the Leopard tank training areas, energy infrastructure, and chemical plants through 2023–2024.
The main reason why these flights continue without any decisive response from the German military, as earlier explained by Bild and Hartpunkt, was the debate about risks and responsibilities. The army wants the police to handle the issue, while the police say they don't have the equipment to put the drones down. There are also a lot of factors that a soldier with a gun must take into consideration before they are allowed to open fire at an unknown flying object so as not to harm civilians.
Read more: Kvertus Presents New Atlas Project Capable of Shielding 1300 km Frontline from Drones
