Greens call for drone summit in the Chancellery after attempted attack

Threat from the air Greens are calling for a drone summit in the Chancellery

Since the attempted drone attack at Leipzig Airport, Interior Minister Dobrindt has been increasingly drumming up support for defense against the aircraft. But the measures do not go far enough for the Greens.

The Greens want to make Germany's ability to defend itself against drone attacks a top political priority. The Green parliamentary group called for a drone summit in the Chancellery in which everyone involved from the federal and state governments worked together, demanded in a motion reported by the “Tagesspiegel”.

The serious security incident in Leipzig at the beginning of August, in which a planned explosive attack with a drone on an aircraft apparently only narrowly failed, must be a warning signal from the Green Party's point of view: "An explosion would probably have led to catastrophic damage."

Greens criticize “symbolic politics”

The measures announced by Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) are therefore inadequate. These are “symbolic politics”.

Last week, Dobrindt traveled to the Saxony-Anhalt town of Cochstedt, where the German Aerospace Center (DLR) operates a testing center for unmanned aviation systems. Dobrindt had opened a “Drone Security Technology Center” there, which was intended to be a “central component of the security architecture in defense against drones.”

According to the Green parliamentary group, the responsibility for drone defense must be clearly clarified, meaning that in the future the federal police should in principle be responsible for monitoring and defending against drones. There is also a need for a real-time situation picture of the lower airspace and a prioritization of airports, Bundeswehr facilities and critical infrastructure when it comes to the technical equipment with drone defenses.

Of course, the federal government must also name who is behind drone attacks. »Such attacks on our country must not remain without consequences. Those responsible for such attacks must expect appropriate and tangible consequences," the application states.

According to SPIEGEL information, the security authorities now have little doubt that Russia is behind the planned attack on Leipzig Airport. Other scenarios are considered conceivable but unlikely. However, the federal government and Interior Minister Dobrindt have so far carefully avoided publicly blaming Moscow.

Leipzig Airport narrowly escaped disaster. Read more about the discovery of the explosive drone and the threat from the air here.