Spiegel: Drones discovered in Germany that could spy on the countryʼs critical infrastructure

The investigation believes that drones spotted last week in Germany over the city of Kiel and areas of Schleswig-Holstein could have been monitoring critical infrastructure facilities.

This is reported by Spiegel.

They have been spotted over power plants, a university clinic, military installations, and even the seat of the land government.

According to the publication, on the evening of September 25, two small drones first flew over the territory of the Thyssenkrupp naval division plant, then they were spotted over the university clinic, and then over the coastal power plant and the Northeast Sea Canal.

Later, a group led by one large and several smaller drones was spotted over the Kiel Bay. They flew over the state parliament building and were probably monitoring the Heide oil refinery, which supplies kerosene to Hamburg Airport.

Schleswig-Holsteinʼs Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waak said that espionage was currently being investigated, without providing details.

On the same day, suspicious drones were spotted over the German armed forces base in Sanitsa, and the next day over the Navy command in “Rostock”.

On Monday, September 29, police discovered several UAVs near the seaport of “Rostock”. According to authorities, they were large quadcopters weighing more than 2.5 kg and were moving in a “coordinated and coherent manner”.

The German government plans to create a joint defense center for law enforcement and the armed forces to counter the threat of drones.

In addition, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt plans to introduce a bill that would allow the armed forces to shoot down drones in emergency situations. Currently, this is only possible over barracks and their surroundings.

• In September, a number of airspace violations by drones and aircraft began to be recorded in Europe. In particular, Russian drones flew into Poland and Romania, and their wreckage was found in Bulgaria and Latvia. Three MiG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace.
• Due to the appearance of drones, Copenhagenʼs main airport was temporarily closed, and they were also recorded in Norway, Germany, near the Swedish Navy base and military facilities in Denmark. After this, Germany announced the creation of the Center for Protection against Drones.
• On September 30, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that the Ukrainian military would deploy a mission to Denmark to share experience in countering drones.

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