At Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, a drone carrying an explosive device was discovered near a transport aircraft loaded with military ammunition. German law enforcement officers are investigating the incident as possible sabotage, UNN reports, citing Reuters and German media.
Details
According to NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, one of the aircraft operated by the Ukrainian airline Antonov Airlines that was in the airport’s cargo area was carrying military ammunition. The cargo had reportedly arrived from France shortly beforehand and was being prepared for onward transportation.
At the same time, law enforcement authorities have not officially specified the type, quantity or final recipient of the ammunition. It has also not yet been proven that the drone was targeting this particular aircraft.
According to the Saxony prosecutor’s office and police, an airport employee discovered the drone during the night of August 4–5 in the cargo area near the southern runway. An unidentified explosive device was attached to the drone.
Federal Police specialists examined the device using a robot, after which they removed the detonator. The explosive device was subsequently destroyed in a controlled manner.
German media, citing the results of a forensic examination, report that the package attached to the drone may have contained the explosives PETN, also known as pentrite, and Semtex. No detonation occurred because the detonator was probably damaged or torn off.
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said that, according to preliminary data, military explosives had been used during the incident. He called the event a new level of threat and a possible hybrid attack scenario.
According to the minister, preparing such an operation may have required specialized technical knowledge and experience in handling explosives. German authorities do not rule out the involvement of foreign forces, but the organizers and perpetrators have not yet been identified.
According to a journalistic investigation, the airport’s drone detection system did not register the device. Law enforcement officers are examining the possibility that the drone was specifically modified to bypass counter-drone defenses.
After the drone was discovered, flights at the airport were temporarily suspended. One of the cargo aircraft was unable to land and collided with an unknown object while climbing again. After landing in Hanover, minor damage was found on the front section of the fuselage.
German law enforcement officers are searching for fragments of a second object, which may also have been a drone. It is currently unknown whether this incident is connected to the explosive-equipped drone.
The investigation is being conducted by the Central Unit for Combating Extremism of the Dresden Prosecutor General’s Office and the Saxony State Criminal Police Office. The case is being considered in the context of possible terrorism, extremism and a politically motivated crime.
Law enforcement officers are seeking to identify the drone’s operator, its launch site, the method of control and its possible target. Police have also called on witnesses to provide photographs, video recordings and information about suspicious individuals or vehicles near the airport.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev and several German politicians suggested that Russia might be behind the incident. At the same time, investigators have not yet released official evidence of Russian involvement.
It should be noted that Leipzig/Halle Airport is one of Europe’s largest air cargo hubs. After the destruction of the airport in Hostomel in 2022, Antonov Airlines moved the operational base of some of its An-124 transport aircraft there.
Recall
Eight of Germany’s largest airports, including Frankfurt and Berlin, are installing the latest drone-protection systems. The system is already operational in Frankfurt, and by the end of the year most airports will have the new capabilities.