Germany plans drone shield after hybrid attack in Leipzig

Germany is planning a broad anti-drone shield after an August attack on Leipzig airport involving drones carrying explosives, an incident Berlin blames on Russia, Bild am Sonntag reported.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said Russian hybrid attacks involving explosive drones against airports, agents in German cities, cyberattacks on electricity networks and sabotage of infrastructure had become part of daily reality. “These attacks will increase, but we can defend ourselves and protect ourselves,” he told the newspaper.

The Interior Ministry’s proposed security plan would expand the Federal Police’s mobile anti-drone defense unit. Rapid-response teams equipped with helicopters and intervention vehicles would operate in strategically important cities including Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Hanover and Cologne.

The units would protect airspace over critical infrastructure, transport hubs, airports, railway stations and Berlin’s government district. Their duties would include intercepting drones and disabling drone bombs and other explosive devices.

Anti-drone defense would also extend beyond the Federal Police and other authorities. Water suppliers, electricity companies and defense-sector firms could receive legal powers to detect and actively neutralize drones.

The plan also calls for expanded searches for suspected attackers or spies preparing assaults, using artificial intelligence, biometric facial recognition and video surveillance, including at railway stations. Artificial intelligence would be used to detect weapons or suspicious behavior automatically.

To address daily cyberattacks against public bodies and companies, Germany also wants to establish a national protective shield, described as a “cyberdome.” The proposed network would use dense layers of digital sensors to detect and intercept hacking attempts.

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These attacks will increase, but we can defend ourselves and protect ourselves.