Germany moves to let police shoot down rogue drones
Illustrative photo: Germany is preparing a law that will allow police to shoot down drones that violate airspace (Getty Images)
In Germany, federal police will soon be allowed to shoot down and intercept drones after a series of suspicious incidents. The government is preparing a law, according to German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
Presenting the relevant bill, Dobrindt noted that the police will have the right "to take state-of-the-art technical action against drone threats, for example with electromagnetic pulses, jamming, GPS interference, but also with physical means."
"This means that the interception and shooting down of drones will be regulated and possible for the Federal Police in the future," the Minister says.
According to him, Germany is studying modern technologies for countering drones from its allies, Israel and Ukraine.
In addition, there are plans to create a joint drone defense center for state and federal police, which will develop situation reports and coordinate joint countermeasures.
Unknown drones in Germany
This year, Germany reported numerous cases of drones appearing over military bases, industrial facilities, and other critical infrastructure.
In particular, on the night of September 26, suspicious drone flights over strategic facilities were recorded in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein in the north of the country.
A few days later, last weekend, unknown drones caused the closure of Munich Airport twice, leading to delays and flight diversions - thousands of passengers were forced to wait or change routes.
Against the backdrop of these incidents, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they suspect that Russia is behind most of these drone flights.
Meanwhile, Ryanair is demanding that drones posing a threat to European airports be shot down. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has criticized EU leaders for their inability to protect strategic facilities from drone attacks.
