Federal police are upgrading drone defenses

According to Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), building up drone defense capabilities will keep the Federal Police busy for years and represent a major challenge. They are preparing for an “arms race” between their own drone defenses and attackers who are trying to overcome this defense, said the CSU politician during a visit to the Federal Police Aviation Squadron in Fulda Valley in Hesse.

In December, the Federal Minister of the Interior commissioned a new federal police drone defense unit. It currently has 70 emergency personnel. The number is expected to increase to 300 officers by the end of the year.

The expansion is a response to the most serious incident involving a drone to date: a drone prepared with explosives and a detonation mechanism was discovered between Ukrainian cargo planes in the security area of ​​Leipzig/Halle Airport on the evening of August 4th. The Federal Prosecutor's Office spoke of a "serious attack on the transport and logistics infrastructure in Germany."

Dobrindt initially wants to wait for investigations into the drone incident

Many politicians suspect Russian authorship. Dobrindt has rejected calls to clearly state this publicly. He wanted to wait for the results of the investigation. He said he would then decide – together with the Chancellery and other security-relevant departments – on appropriate consequences.