Drone sightings

Spy alert around German Patriot site

The Schwesing site near Husum is part of the Bundeswehr's air defense units, which also work with the Patriot missile defense system, among other things.(Bild: APA/AFP/Christof STACHE)

For months, drone sightings over German military bases have kept the authorities on their toes. Now there is a spy alert in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, where Ukrainian soldiers are also being trained on the Patriot air defense system.

A spokeswoman for the Operational Command of the Bundeswehr in Berlin confirmed to the AFP news agency on Sunday "a number of drone sightings at the Bundeswehr base in Schwesing in January". Investigations by civilian authorities are ongoing. 

A police jammer near the Reichstag in Berlin(Bild: APA/AFP/RALF HIRSCHBERGER)

Jammers remained ineffective
According to a report in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" newspaper, there were "six security incidents" involving professional drones of unknown origin at the Husum air base near the North Sea between January 9 and 29. "It is being investigated on suspicion of espionage," the newspaper wrote on Sunday, citing a classified situation report to the German Ministry of Defense. Jammers had remained ineffective.

Due to the ineffectiveness of the defensive measures, it can be assumed that these were specialized drones, it said. The Schwesing site near Husum is part of the Bundeswehr's air defense units, which also work with the Patriot missile defense system, among other things. It is part of the German armed forces' central training center for anti-aircraft missiles. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Ukrainian soldiers, among others, are trained on Patriot systems at the base. 

"In none of the six cases could the drone operator(s) be located," the "SZ" quotes from the report. Military police, police and the military counter-intelligence service were involved. Additional detection and jamming systems were also deployed to the site. According to the newspaper, Bundeswehr circles suspected that the drones could have been launched from ships in the North Sea or Baltic Sea.

The US base in Ramstein has also been targeted.(Bild: APA/AFP)

Change in the law: Bundeswehr may shoot down drones
According to the authorities, there have also been suspicious drone flights elsewhere in recent months. Industrial plants and a shut-down nuclear power plant in Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein, the chemical company BASF's plant in Ludwigshafen in Rhineland-Palatinate and the important US airbase at Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate were affected. Russia in particular is under suspicion for the incidents.

Against this background, the Aviation Security Act in Germany is now to be amended. The amendment will allow the German Armed Forces to shoot down drones in the event of imminent danger. Until now, only interdiction has been permitted.