As has only now become public knowledge, there have been repeated drone alerts – for a year now – over German army bases. German armed forces bases. In German media such as “Bild am Sonntag”, “Tagesspiegel” or “Focus” German defense politicians attribute these incidents to Russian foreign reconnaissance. They are pushing for a defense strategy.
There is even talk of “constant drone sightings over military training areas and Bundeswehr barracks”. Now, defense politicians from the ruling coalition are putting pressure on their own Federal Ministry of Defense to finally find solutions for drone defense quickly. On January 7, FDP defense expert Marcus Faber revealed to Bild am Sonntag: “Drones are regularly sighted over the Klietz military training area, where the Bundeswehr trains Ukrainians on the Leopard 1. At other military bases, several drones sometimes enter the airspace at the same time. This is clearly organized and points strongly to Russia.” https://militaeraktuell.at/neue-investitionen-in-die-ab212-helis-geplant/ Bundeswehr suspects Moscow
The Bundeswehr also suspects that Moscow is behind the drone flights. However, it cannot prove it because, according to Faber, it has “not yet succeeded in intercepting a single drone or arresting its pilot – if it is being controlled from the surrounding area.” Inspector General Carsten Breuer had already expressed his alarm about drone sightings in October 2022 (at that time still as commander of the Territorial Command) and had military police trained in the use of the HP 47 jammer. However, it was not until a good year later, in November 2023, that the ministerial “Drone Task Force” was established. State Secretary Nils Hilmer informed the MPs that the task force had to clarify with the interior ministries which security body was allowed to do what in drone defense, which defense devices were effective and how they could be procured quickly.
“We must not allow Russia to spy on our military training grounds with drones while we get tangled up in the confusion of responsibilities.”
SPD-Verteidigungsexperte Andreas Schwarz
German bureaucratic confusion
Two months after the task force was founded, politicians are pushing for decisions. MP Faber again: “There is a huge backlog when it comes to drones and their defence or neutralization. It’s clear that our army needs modern jammers. We finally need the results of the task force in the next few months.” And SPD defense expert Andreas Schwarz emphasized to “Bild am Sonntag”: “The Bundeswehr needs more speed. The structures must become faster. It is not acceptable for the Inspector General to determine that there is a massive problem with foreign or unknown drones, but then nothing happens for a whole year.” https://militaeraktuell.at/heckler-koch-mit-auftrag-in-deutschland/ It was right for Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to set up a task force, but now solutions must be found, Schwarz continued. “We must not allow Russia to spy on our military training areas with drones while we get tangled up in the confusion of responsibilities.” Green defense politician Sebastian Schäfer also complains: “There is no drone strategy. But we urgently need one.”
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