The German government passed a law on October 8 that would allow police to shoot down drones. It will now be considered by the German parliament.
Reuters writes about this.
The new law allows police to shoot down drones that violate German airspace. In addition to firearms, drones can be neutralized with lasers or electronic warfare equipment that disrupts control and navigation signals.
By adopting the new law, Germany joins other European countries, including Britain, France, Lithuania and Romania, which have recently given their law enforcement agencies the authority to shoot down drones that violate airspace.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said that a special unit to combat drones will be created within the federal police. Researchers will be involved in developing the system, consulting with Israel and Ukraine.
The police will be responsible for drones flying at low altitudes (approximately tree level), while other UAVs will be neutralized by the army.
"Drone incidents pose a threat to our security. We will not tolerate this," wrote Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
What preceded
The new law was passed after dozens of flights were canceled or diverted at Munich Airport, the countryʼs second-largest, on October 3 due to drones, leaving more than 10 000 passengers stranded at the airport.
This is not the only drone incident in Germany. On the evening of September 25, two small drones first flew over the Thyssenkrupp naval plant, then were spotted over a university clinic, a coastal power plant, and the Northeastern Sea Canal.
Later, a group of one large and several smaller drones were 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-Holstein Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waak said that espionage was currently being investigated, but did not provide details.
German Chancellor Merz suggests that Russia is behind most of the drones that have flown over the country. None of them had combat capabilities — they were probably reconnaissance flights.
In Germany, the creation of a Drone Protection Center was subsequently announced.
- 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, the main airport in Copenhagen was temporarily closed, and they were also recorded in Norway, near the Swedish Navy base and military facilities in Denmark.
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