German plane armed with missiles, Photo: snapshot-photography/F Boillot / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Germany's parliament voted on Thursday to give the armed forces expanded powers to intercept or even shoot down drones, amid a surge in reported incidents since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine.
The Bundestag approved an amendment to the air security law, proposed by the Interior Ministry, with the support of the ruling conservatives and the Social Democrats, as well as the far-right opposition AfD, aimed at speeding up and simplifying drone defense procedures.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the number of drone incidents over Germany has increased, and in many cases the operators cannot be identified. Experts suspect that Russia is behind many of these flights.
Under the new form of the law, the Bundeswehr can intervene directly against drones at the request of civil authorities, including using jamming devices or weaponry. Until now, the military's intervention was strictly limited.
Also, the Ministry of Defense can order operations on its own initiative, which would allow faster reactions in case of acute threats, according to the details provided in the normative act.
Currently, state police are responsible for combating drones, but they often lack the necessary equipment.
The powers of the federal police have recently been expanded, and a new drone defense center has been opened in Berlin to support these efforts.
The law also introduces tougher penalties for drones entering airport airspace, targeting protests by environmental activists who have repeatedly disrupted flights.
Such acts will now be classified as crimes and can be punished with up to two years in prison, instead of the fines applied previously.
