Germany finds another drone linked to Leipzig airport incident, media reports

German investigators discovered a third drone and a cache of explosives that may have been involved in an attempted attack at Leipzig Airport earlier this month, according to German media reports on August 25. The information emerged weeks after a Ukrainian cargo plane carrying ammunition was reportedly targeted by a drone loaded with explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4.

Flights were grounded overnight on August 5 following the sighting of a modified drone near the Ukrainian Antonov Airlines An-124 transport aircraft, and a second unidentified flying object collided with a DHL cargo plane.

The third drone was discovered on August 14 in a field west of the airport, reported German news outlets Suddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, and WDR. German investigators also found approximately 50 grams of hexogen, a type of military explosive, at the scene, leading them to believe the attack involved multiple drones. It is still unclear why the explosive was not detonated or the purpose of the third drone in the attempted attack.

U.S. intelligence agencies suspect the explosives-laden drone initially found at the airport belonged to Moscow, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on August 7.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as a potential hybrid attack orchestrated by a state actor, though he refrained from accusing Russia directly. Western officials have expressed concern over an increasing number of Moscow-backed hybrid operations in European territory, ranging from arson to infrastructure sabotage and suspicious drone sightings near critical facilities.