Suspected attack:

Arson Attack on Defense Contractor in Bavaria

In Munich, incendiary devices are said to have been thrown at a construction site in front of the company’s headquarters.(Bild: Google Maps)

The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) is currently investigating a suspected attempted attack on the technology and defense contractor Rohde & Schwarz in Munich. Early Thursday morning, several incendiary devices were thrown from a moving car onto a construction site in front of the company’s headquarters.

An alert witness observed the incendiary devices being thrown in front of an extension to the company’s building around midnight and called emergency services. One of the devices ignited, but the fire was quickly extinguished.

Suspects Arrested
Twosuspects—a 28-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman, both Bulgarian citizens—werearrestedat a gas station near the scene of the crime. The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) suspects a politically motivated motive and has taken over the investigation.

In Munich, incendiary devices are said to have been thrown at a construction site in front of the company’s headquarters.(Bild: Google Maps)

Following the incident, police cordoned off a wide area around a street in the immediate vicinity of Munich’s Ostbahnhof (in the Berg am Laim district). No injuries are reported, and property damage is minor.

Act of Sabotage Suspected
Investigators are now thoroughly examining the backgrounds of the two suspects as well as possible networks or those who commissioned the attack—particularly with regard to acts of sabotage against the security and defense industries. 

Forensic scientists are also examining the second incendiary device—which was defused by the police—for DNA traces and chemical composition. No letter of claim has been received, and the suspects are currently being questioned.

 Incident as Far Back as 2021Media reports note that this is not the first incident in the area. As far back as 2021, acts of sabotage targeting power lines occurred in the immediate vicinity of the site.

In an initial statement, the company emphasized that the actual company premises and the buildings at its headquarters remained undamaged. The incident was limited to the construction site in front of the premises.

Rohde & Schwarz is not only active in the defense sector but is also an electronics and technology group and a global market leader in various segments of high-frequency and measurement technology.

In the defense and security sectors, for example, it manufactures tamper-proof radio and network systems, as well as systems for locating and detecting radio signals, radar, and drones. Encryption technologies for the armed forces, government agencies, and critical infrastructure are also part of its portfolio.

Increased Pressure and High Tension
The security situation in Germany is tense these days. A series of incidents is causing unrest and noticeably increasing the pressure on authorities. Just in the past few days, suspected acts of sabotage against power grids and substations—including in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia —triggered a state of alert, while at the same time, events surrounding a failed drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport are fueling the security debate.

The German federal government has officially blamed Russia for orchestrating the incidents in Leipzig.