The Leipzig drone and Germany’s strategy against hybrid warfare from the air

The Russian lead is gaining ground in the case of the drone loaded with a can full of Semtex and found at Leipzig/Halle Airport during the night of 4–5 August. The drone is believed to have first struck – without exploding – the wing of a Ukrainian Antonov aircraft parked at the airport, before being found on the ground several hours later. Now – as reported by NDR, WDR and SZ – investigators have reportedly identified multiple traces of DNA on the drone and the can. None has yet been attributed to a specific individual, but one lead points to Lithuania, whilst another appears to link the case to a further incident. It is possible that a network that has been operating in Europe for some time is behind the incident.

It is significant that, on 20 July 2024, there had already been an attack on a DHL logistics centre in Leipzig. The incident was part of a series of incendiary devices concealed in parcels sent from Vilnius, which caught fire not only in Germany but also in Poland and the United Kingdom. In March 2026, Eurojust indicated that investigations into these cases were focusing on suspected agents in the pay of Russia’s GRU (likely using disposable identities). Trials relating to these attacks are currently underway in Lithuania and Poland. The network in question is also believed to have handled equipment suitable for drone operations, including cans that could potentially be used to hold explosives. Meanwhile, as reported by the WSJ and CNN, US intelligence has reportedly already concluded that the drone incident of 4–5 August at Leipzig/Halle Airport is also linked to Russia. For the time being, Berlin is limiting itself to referring to a foreign hybrid operation and a possible attack that points to a “new quality of threat”. At the same time, the usual vehement declarations of innocence have already been issued by the Russian embassy in Germany. For the Germans, the Leipzig/Halle case is a serious matter: the investigation has been taken over by the GBA, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office responsible for crimes against the state. There is no shortage of further rumours in the German media. Following the closure of the airport due to the discovery of the drone carrying the can of Semtex, a DHL aircraft in flight collided with another object. One theory is that there was also a second drone in the sky that night, possibly a ‘mother’ drone. Another crucial detail: a 5G router and two SIM cards were reportedly found on the Leipzig/Halle drone. The drone is believed to have been controlled via a mobile network, even from a great distance or from abroad, using frequencies that are difficult to trace as they are indistinguishable from those of a normal mobile phone. Investigators are also said to have discovered a small antenna attached to a tree near the airport, a method that can be used to amplify the signal.

Meanwhile, German policymakers are seeking solutions to counter hybrid threats from the sky. Last September 2025, several swarms of drones flew over critical infrastructure near Kiel, in Schleswig-Holstein, with further sightings above a military base in Sanitz and above the Naval Command and the port of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In the weeks that followed, the Bundespolizei (Federal Border and Transport Police) was reinforced with a new, dedicated anti-drone unit, the Drohnenabwehreinheit, which became operational in December 2025. Also in December, a joint coordination centre, the Gdaz, was set up, bringing together the Bundespolizei, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the police forces of the Länder and the Bundeswehr to monitor unidentified drones. Now, in response to the recent high-profile incident in Leipzig/Halle, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt wants to double the strength of the Drohnenabwehreinheit: from 150 to 300 personnel and from 4 to 8 bases. In Germany, the legal framework regarding who is actually authorised to shoot down drones immediately remains a work in progress. The German armed forces, for example, have so far been able to operate independently only when a hostile drone flies over their bases. This, however, continues to happen repeatedly. On the night of 6–7 August, for instance, suspicious drones flew over the Bundeswehr base at Mechernich, south-west of Bonn. The German military counter-intelligence agency MAD and the anti-drone centre GDaz are also investigating the case. The Mechernich base is no insignificant target: with an underground depot 130 metres deep, the site is also home to the Patriot-Werft, a facility considered unique in Europe for the maintenance of Patriot systems.