FULDATAL, Germany, 20th August, 2026 (WAM) -- Building up drone-defence capabilities will be a permanent task for Germany in the coming years, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Thursday.
Speaking during a visit to the Federal Police's aviation unit in the central town of Fuldatal, Dobrindt said he expected an "arms race" between the force's own drone-defence systems and opponents trying to overcome them.
According to dpa, the federal police's new drone-defence unit, which Dobrindt commissioned in December, currently has 70 personnel. That number is set to grow to 300 officers by the end of the year.
The expansion is a response to the most serious drone incident to date in Germany at Leipzig airport earlier this month.
A drone fitted with explosives and a detonation mechanism was discovered on the evening of August 4 in the security zone of Leipzig/Halle Airport, between Ukrainian cargo aircraft. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office described it as a "serious attack on transport and logistics infrastructure in Germany."