https://sputnikglobe.com/20240107/germany-has-no-clue-whos-operating-mystery-drones-flying-over-bundeswehr-bases-1116034002.html
Germany Has No Clue Who’s Operating Mystery Drones Flying Over Bundeswehr Bases
Germany Has No Clue Who’s Operating Mystery Drones Flying Over Bundeswehr Bases
Sputnik International
Berlin has delivered €17.1 billion ($18.7 billion US) in military support and tens of billions more in economic aid to Kiev for the proxy war against Russia –... 07.01.2024, Sputnik International
2024-01-07T11:43+0000
2024-01-07T11:43+0000
2024-01-07T12:00+0000
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Military bases across Germany are reportedly vulnerable to espionage activities by mystery drones and the Bundeswehr has no clue who’s operating them.The problem, reported on by commanders since at least October of 2022, has apparently been especially prevalent in areas where Bundeswehr troops train Ukrainian fighters.Former Bundeswehr Territorial Command chief Carsten Breuer ordered military police units to use HP 47 portable jammers to target the mystery drones, but their effectiveness “has not been sufficiently investigated,” according to media. The Bundeswehr apparently “suspects Moscow” of the aerial surveillance, but has no proof – in part because not a single drone has been shot down to date.“So far it has not been possible to capture a drone or its operator,” Nils Hilmer, state secretary to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, said.Areas where the drones have been spotted include the Klietz military training area in the former East Germany, where the Bundeswehr has been training Ukrainian tankers to operate Leopard 1 main battle tanks.According to Hilmer, part of the problem has been delineating responsibility for drone defense between ministries, and figuring out what kinds of anti-drone defense systems exist and how quickly they can be procured. The Bundeswehr founded a drone task force in November of 2023 under the command of an Army one-star general to deal with the problem, but two months later, “there are still no tangible results,” according to media.“We must not allow Russia to spy on military training areas with drones while we get tangled up in the confusion of responsibilities,” Andreas Schwarz, an MP from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, said of the growing problem.But the paranoia about the Russians may be premature. According to German news outlet Tagesspiegel, a drone operator was detained in Saxony-Anhalt in the country’s east in November while operating a drone near a Bundeswehr base where Ukrainian officers were present. State Criminal Police opened an investigation and discovered that the drone operator was a documentary filmmaker, not a spy.Nevertheless, a security official insisted that there have been so many drone sightings “that it would be dangerous even if a small percentage of them were spy flights. We are open sometimes to the Russian intelligence services, at least from the air.”Under German law, civilian-operated drones are not allowed to be flown within 100 meters of any of the roughly 1,500 facilities used by the Bundeswehr.But the military has had problems targeting the intruding UAVs as Germany continues to ship billions of euros in military equipment off to Ukraine. Berlin has already committed €17.1 billion to Kiev, and plans to further ramp up deliveries in 2024, despite a recent budget crisis close call and a faltering economic outlook.The rapid pace at which the Bundeswehr’s armories have been emptied to arm Ukraine has been quietly criticized by generals, with some grumbling that Berlin will be unable to field even one of three planned new combat-ready divisions by at least 2025 due to lack of equipment, and defense experts warning that Germany would last less than two days in the event of a full scale military emergency at home.
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Germany Has No Clue Who’s Operating Mystery Drones Flying Over Bundeswehr Bases
11:43 GMT 07.01.2024 (Updated: 12:00 GMT 07.01.2024) Berlin has delivered €17.1 billion ($18.7 billion US) in military support and tens of billions more in economic aid to Kiev for the proxy war against Russia – more than any other country besides the US. The deliveries have starved the Bundeswehr of its domestic defense capabilities.
Military bases across Germany are reportedly vulnerable to espionage activities by mystery drones and the Bundeswehr has no clue who’s operating them.
“Suspicious drones fly over military training areas and Bundeswehr barracks every week. Successful defense measures taken by the troops? Nothing reported so far,” German media
reported Sunday, citing the prevalence of flights by small, €1,000-apiece off-the-shelf quadcopter UAVs.
The problem, reported on by commanders since at least October of 2022, has apparently been especially prevalent in areas where Bundeswehr troops train Ukrainian fighters.
Former Bundeswehr Territorial Command chief Carsten Breuer ordered military police units to use HP 47 portable jammers to target the mystery drones, but their effectiveness “has not been sufficiently investigated,” according to media. The Bundeswehr apparently “suspects Moscow” of the aerial surveillance, but has no proof – in part because not a single drone has been shot down to date.
“So far it has not been possible to capture a drone or its operator,” Nils Hilmer, state secretary to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, said.
Areas where the drones have been spotted include the Klietz military training area in the former East Germany, where the Bundeswehr has been training Ukrainian tankers to operate Leopard 1 main battle tanks.
According to Hilmer, part of the problem has been delineating responsibility for drone defense between ministries, and figuring out what kinds of anti-drone defense systems exist and how quickly they can be procured. The Bundeswehr founded a drone task force in November of 2023 under the command of an Army one-star general to deal with the problem, but two months later, “there are still no tangible results,” according to media.
“There is no drone strategy. We need one urgently,” Green Party Bundestag MP Sebastian Schafer urged. “There is a huge amount of catching up to do when it comes to drones. One thing is clear: our military needs modern jammers. We need results from the task for in the next few months,” Hilmer said.
“We must not allow Russia to spy on military training areas with drones while we get tangled up in the confusion of responsibilities,” Andreas Schwarz, an MP from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, said of the growing problem.
But the paranoia about the Russians may be premature. According to German news outlet Tagesspiegel, a drone operator was detained in Saxony-Anhalt in the country’s east in November while operating a drone near a Bundeswehr base where Ukrainian officers were present. State Criminal Police opened an investigation and discovered that the drone operator was a documentary filmmaker, not a spy. 
31 December 2023, 17:51 GMT
Nevertheless, a security official insisted that there have been so many drone sightings “that it would be dangerous even if a small percentage of them were spy flights. We are open sometimes to the Russian intelligence services, at least from the air.”
Under German law, civilian-operated drones are not allowed to be flown within 100 meters of any of the roughly 1,500 facilities used by the Bundeswehr.
But the military has had problems targeting the intruding UAVs as Germany continues to ship billions of euros in military equipment off to Ukraine. Berlin has already committed €17.1 billion to Kiev, and plans to further ramp up deliveries in 2024, despite a recent budget crisis close call and a faltering economic outlook.
Ironically, amid the anti-drone mania at home, Germany has given away much of its drone defense capabilities to Kiev, sending at least 176 drone guns, short, medium, and long-range anti-drone sensors, jammers, and detection systems to the country over the past two years.
The rapid pace at which the Bundeswehr’s armories have been emptied to arm Ukraine has been quietly criticized by generals, with some
grumbling that Berlin will be unable to field even one of three planned new combat-ready divisions by at least 2025 due to lack of equipment, and defense experts
warning that Germany would last less than two days in the event of a full scale military emergency at home.
