Germany "Under Threat" After Drones Found Near Leipzig Airport, Chancellor Merz Says

Germany faces a growing threat, Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared Tuesday, following the discovery of a third drone near Leipzig airport. "The drone attack in Leipzig, among other things, shows that we are also facing very real threats," Merz stated before a German government meeting. "Germany has increasingly come to the attention of attackers using hybrid methods."

This warning comes after authorities found a drone on the Leipzig/Halle airport tarmac in early August. The device was equipped with an unknown substance and a detonator, prompting investigators to consider it a potential explosive device. The discovery led to an immediate suspension of air traffic and flight diversions.

U.S. intelligence services, cited by The Wall Street Journal, suggest the drone likely belongs to Russia. However, German authorities have not yet definitively identified who launched the suspected attack. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as a possible "hybrid attack scenario," noting that suspicious drones have disrupted European airports in the past.

Two days after the Leipzig incident, additional drones were detected over a German military base in Mechernich. The government under Merz is reportedly seeking to grant German intelligence services greater latitude to counter threats from adversaries like Russia. A German intelligence report last year indicated that Germany's security level had "deteriorated significantly" since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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The drone attack in Leipzig, among other things, shows that we are also facing very real threats. Germany has increasingly come to the attention of attackers using hybrid methods.