Symbolic imageGermany widens drone defences after sightings over Patriot base
Two drones were spotted over a Bundeswehr base near Bonn that reportedly holds Patriot components, days after an explosives-laden drone was found at Leipzig/Halle airport. Berlin is expanding its drone defences.
The Bundeswehr confirmed on Saturday that the two drones appeared late on Thursday, 6 August, over the base at Mechernich, a site German media describe as a store of spare parts for Patriot batteries. Military police were sent before local police took over; the Bundeswehr declined on Sunday to name the drones' origin. "We're not at war, but we are the daily target of hybrid warfare," Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told Bild am Sonntag, without naming a country.
Berlin doubles its drone hunters
Dobrindt's ministry wants to double federal anti-drone experts from 150 to 300 and its bases from four to eight, Bild reported. Handelsblatt reports a study finding Europe poorly prepared for drone attacks.
A bus driver did the job
A bus driver brought down the drone that reached a Leipzig/Halle runway on Tuesday, 4 August, after hours undetected; FAZ calls Germany blind in the sky and notes a SIM card pointing to mobile-network control.
Rheinmetall boss under guard
Armin Papperger, guarded around the clock over alleged Russian murder plots, told dpa that "chickening out" is no option.
Other opinions
Politika and Al Jazeera stress Moscow's denials, with the Russian embassy calling Leipzig a "fabricated provocation"; the Wall Street Journal casts the sightings as Russia testing Europe's defences.