Germany: Leipzig airport drone attack sets off alarm bells

Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany experienced an unprecedented drone attack involving explosives during a nighttime operation. Federal police managed to defuse the device using a bomb disposal robot, closing a section of the airport as a precaution. The package contained PETN and Semtex, highly explosive substances often used in military applications.

The drone was found near an Antonov Airlines plane loaded with military munitions recently transported from France to Germany and destined for Ukraine. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, who expedited his vacation to inspect the scene, stated that this marks a new threat scenario. He cautioned that foreign powers might be behind the incident, though he did not name any specific parties.

Dobrindt revealed that a joint center for countering hybrid threats had been established earlier in the year due to heightened security concerns, including espionage, sabotage, and disinformation, particularly from Russia. Leipzig/Halle Airport, one of Germany's largest cargo hubs, is particularly vulnerable to such attacks, leading security experts to consider Russia as a potential mastermind behind this incident.

Meanwhile, Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster mentioned ongoing efforts to recover possible parts of a second drone that collided with an aircraft at the airport. This incident follows a similar attack in July 2024 at Leipzig Airport, where an incendiary device was discovered in a container belonging to DHL, believed to be a targeted act of Russian sabotage.