German military investigates drone sightings near Mechernich base
Two drones were spotted flying over a German military base in Mechernich on Thursday, confirmed by security surveillance at approximately 10 pm.
The drone sightings near a key military base underscore heightened security risks for NATO operations, particularly given Leipzig-Halle Airport’s role in supporting Ukraine and NATO logistics.
“This incident represents a new quality of danger,” said German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt regarding the recent drone activities.
Two drones spottled flying over military base in the western part of the country, German armed forces say
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Two drones were spotted flying over a German military base in the western part of the country, just two days after a drone carrying explosives was found at a key cargo airport, the German Armed Forces said in a statement on Saturday.
Security surveillance at the Bundeswehr base in Mechernich reported seeing two drones around 10 pm on Thursday, according to a statement from the German Joint Force Command. The sightings were confirmed and military police forces were deployed to the site.
The military said the Euskirchen police department has opened an investigation. The police did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the military did not release additional details.
Recently, drone sightings over civilian and cargo airports have been more widely reported.
‘New quality of danger’
Last year, mysterious drone flights over the airspace of European Union member countries alarmed the public and authorities, and also prompted the cancellation of dozens of flights that stranded thousands of passengers at several major airports from Copenhagen to Warsaw.
Thursday’s sighting of the two drones came after a drone with explosives was found at Germany’s Leipzig-Halle Airport shortly before midnight on Tuesday. The device and its detonator were destroyed in a controlled explosion, with German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt calling the incident a “new quality of danger.”
Leipzig-Halle is a major hub for international freight and for providing support to Ukraine. Since Russia’s war on Ukraine broke out in February 2022, it has also doubled as a base for Kyiv’s national cargo carrier, Antonov Airlines.
It is also home to NATO’s Strategic Airlift International Solution, or SALIS, which is currently operational almost every day in delivering equipment to NATO battle groups along its eastern flank from Finland to Romania and supporting EU and alliance nation missions.
In 2024, an incendiary device ignited at a logistics centre at the airport and set fire to a freight container, part of a plot that Western security officials suspect was organized by Russian intelligence.
Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.
The Russian Embassy in Germany on Friday called the Leipzig drone incident part of a “new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany.”
Additional sources • AP