German Police: Leipzig Airport Drone Controlled Remotely via 4G Mobile Network

BRUSSELS, September 10. /TASS/. Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office believes that the technical equipment of the drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport allowed it to be controlled from anywhere in the world, Bild reported.

According to the results of the newspaper’s investigation, the UAV intercepted in Leipzig is a racing drone that was modified using commercially available parts and 3D-printed components. Its battery allowed it to remain airborne for 10-15 minutes.

The device was not equipped with a GPS module, meaning it was actively controlled remotely via a joystick. This control was carried out via a standard mobile network through a built-in 4G module. The Federal Criminal Police Office believes this allowed the operator to "be located anywhere with internet access of sufficient quality."

According to the newspaper, the Federal Criminal Police Office’s assessment sounds like a damning verdict on Germany’s drone defense system. Bild explained that since the drone was controlled via mobile internet, a signal not monitored by the military, it would have been impossible to detect it via radio signals, and electronic countermeasures would have been useless without jamming mobile communications. Radar, cameras, and microphones remain the only available means of detecting such drones, but these methods may become obsolete as drone technology changes rapidly, the newspaper emphasized.

On September 1, the German government officially blamed Russia for the drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport and announced countermeasures. Specifically, the Russian Consulate General in Bonn will close on September 18. Other measures include terminating the agreement governing the activities of the Russian House in Berlin and tightening entry controls for Russian citizens. Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev rejected all accusations made by Germany, calling them unsubstantiated and absurd.

Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that Germany's recent anti-Russian decisions, made under the pretext of the Leipzig Airport drone incident, are another grave mistake by the German authorities that goes against the interests of their people. According to him, these decisions are linked to Germany's domestic political situation and, in particular, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's difficult position.

On the evening of August 4, a drone carrying a homemade explosive device was found on the tarmac at Leipzig/Halle Airport near a Ukrainian cargo plane. Thankfully, the detonator failed to go off. That same night, a second drone collided with a DHL cargo plane. Ten days later, investigators found a third drone, as well as traces of a powerful explosive, presumably containing about 50 grams of hexogen. The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office is handling the investigation.