Germany Terror Attack Probe Focuses on Explosives-Laden Drone at Leipzig Airport
German authorities are investigating a drone carrying military-grade high explosives discovered late on Tuesday at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany next to Ukrainian Antonov cargo planes, prompting a counterterrorism investigation that German officials describe as a suspected hybrid attack in the Germany terror attack probe. Forensic analysis found the drone contained high-explosive material of a military type along with a detonator that had a technical defect preventing detonation [1]. The airport serves as a key NATO logistics hub for SALIS operations delivering equipment to Ukraine and the eastern flank, with the drone found near planes that media reports said were carrying ammunition [1]. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called the incident a new hybrid attack scenario involving professional technology possibly linked to foreign powers, marking an escalation from prior drone sightings [1]. A separate incident occurred the same night when a DHL cargo plane collided with an unidentified flying object shortly after takeoff, sustaining minor damage and diverting to Hanover [1]. Ukrainian officials pointed to Russia as the likely perpetrator in the context of ongoing hybrid warfare, though German authorities have not identified those responsible and Russia has not commented [1].
Drone With Explosives Discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport
Airport workers discovered the drone late on Tuesday at Leipzig/Halle Airport [2]. The drone lay next to two Ukrainian Antonov transport planes loaded with ammunition according to a police report cited by media [1]. An airport employee, specifically a bus driver, spotted an object resembling a drone on the southern runway around midnight on Wednesday [3]. Traffic at the airport was immediately halted, and a special robot approached and neutralized the drone [3]. Forensic experts determined that the drone tested positive for explosive material and also had a detonator, though the detonator was defective, which prevented an explosion by chance alone according to German media [3]. Kriminaltekniske undersøkelser showed it was apparently a high-explosive material of the type used by the military, as reported by Süddeutsche Zeitung which accessed a police report [1]. Federal prosecutors stated that evidence indicates the drone was intended to cause an explosion [1]. Bomb experts rendered the device safe after contact occurred between the drone and an employee, after which the drone landed on the ground [1]. The drone was found close to several Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo airplanes [2]. A Reuters journalist saw police collecting evidence in the vicinity of one of the planes early on Wednesday [2]. Newspaper Bild cited unnamed investigators as saying that a technical defect prevented the drone-mounted device from exploding [2]. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung, together with public television broadcasters NDR and WDR, cited a confidential police report as saying a Ukrainian cargo aircraft near the drone was transporting a payload of military ammunition [2]. The outlet also reported that forensic experts had found the explosives attached to the drone were of a high military grade [2].
Airport's Role in NATO and Ukraine Aid Shipments
Leipzig/Halle is the main base for NATO's Strategic Airlift International Solution, known as SALIS, which helps deliver equipment to strengthen the defence pact's eastern flank using a small fleet of Antonov cargo planes [2]. The airport functions as a hub for air transport of military material for NATO, for the German armed forces, and for the Ukrainian airline Antonov since 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine [3]. It has served as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines since shortly after the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion [4]. The drone was found close to Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo airplanes, among the world's biggest freighters, according to earlier media reports [2]. According to the German outlet Bild, four Ukrainian cargo aircraft were present during the suspected attack [4]. The airport is considered critical infrastructure due to its strategic position in eastern Germany [3]. It also serves as a hub for the German logistics group DHL, a major player in global transport that plays a significant role in international supply chains [3]. A senior German lawmaker said on Thursday that aircraft parked near where the explosives-laden drone was discovered were not loaded with military material, denying media reports that one of them was carrying ammunition [2]. Detlef Seif, a lawmaker from the governing conservatives and member of the parliamentary interior committee, told Reuters that information he had received indicated the planes were not loaded with ammunition or weapons [2].
German authorities investigate explosives-laden drone found at Leipzig Halle Airport near Ukrainian cargo planes. — Source: channelnewsasia
Officials Describe Hybrid Attack and Professional Execution
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as a hybrid attack, and German authorities have launched a counterterrorism investigation [2]. Dobrindt said on Wednesday evening that the incident was a new type of threat which he described as a "hybrid attack scenario" [1]. He stated that the perpetrators were not amateurs but possibly carried out by foreign powers with expertise in explosives [1]. Dobrindt emphasized that drone sightings and hybrid threats are something known from the past, but the fact that a drone armed with explosives is on airport property constitutes a new hybrid attack scenario [3]. He noted that it would be shortsighted to believe this kind of threat can be combated with simple means, adding that authorities are dealing with a competition that may include foreign powers [3]. Dobrindt underlined that in the Leipzig case authorities are dealing with a higher degree of risk that is specific and no longer abstract, and that the hybrid attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport is characterized by professionalism [3]. The federal prosecutor's office pointed out that the drone was intended to cause an explosion, with perpetrators assumed to have sophisticated technology and possibly ties to foreign powers [1]. Security expert Peter Neumann at King’s College in London said the incident represents a new degree of seriousness, noting it is the first case in Germany where a drone with an explosive charge has been found and that it is no longer just about espionage but a possible attack [1]. The state's interior minister Armin Schuster also spoke of a specific and no longer abstract danger, emphasizing that German authorities are directing their investigations toward locating a possible second drone [3].
Simultaneous Collision Involving DHL Cargo Plane
German authorities were also searching on Thursday for debris from an unidentified object that damaged a freight jet mid-air near the airport on the same night [2]. A DHL cargo plane collided with an unidentified flying object shortly after takeoff, sustaining minor damage and diverting to Hanover [1]. That cargo plane struck the unidentified object as it was performing a go-around due to the closure of one of Leipzig/Halle's runways [2]. It was lightly damaged in the collision and eventually landed in Hanover in northern Germany [2]. The second aircraft was diverted to Hanover where it landed, with minor damage recorded on the front section [3]. Flights were suspended and several aircraft, including some operated by German logistics group DHL, were diverted late on Tuesday [2]. It remains unclear whether the events are connected [1]. Police in the state of Saxony did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the media reports about the aircraft's payload [2].
Russia Suspected Amid Pattern of Hybrid Incidents
Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makeyev, linked the new case to the 2024 DHL incident and pointed to Russia as the perpetrator, stating that no one else could be responsible and that Russia has long been conducting this hybrid war [3]. Ukrainian officials pointed to Russia as the likely perpetrator in the context of ongoing hybrid warfare [1]. The Russian Embassy in Berlin did not respond to an emailed request for comment from Reuters [2]. Russia has not commented on the allegations [1]. Suspected Russian-linked drone incidents have repeatedly disrupted airports across Europe, causing flight suspensions and diversions [4]. After 2022, German authorities have recorded increased drone activities over critical German infrastructure, airports, military facilities, and industrial infrastructure, and are examining the possibility of hybrid sabotage operations [3]. German security services have previously accused Russia of being behind many of these incidents as part of a broader campaign that includes sabotage, espionage, and disinformation, though Moscow denies any involvement [3]. The Leipzig/Halle Airport was previously at the center of a sabotage case in July 2024 when a package caught fire before being loaded onto a DHL aircraft, with German security services assessing a possible link to Russia [3]. Lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter blamed Russia, though German authorities have said the perpetrators of the incidents at the airport had not yet been identified [2]. Hybrid threat expert Hanna Smith noted that while Russia has much to gain from blowing up a plane loaded with war material to Ukraine, the Russian state need not be directly involved, as criminal groups could also benefit from weakening Ukraine [1].
Current Status of Investigation and Airport Operations
The federal prosecutor's ongoing probe examines perpetrators and motives [2]. A spokesperson for Leipzig/Halle Airport said on Thursday that operations were back to normal and no additional security measures had been implemented [2]. While German authorities have said the perpetrators of the incidents at the airport had not yet been identified, the investigation continues into the nature of the explosive substances, the construction of the drone, its origin, and who is behind it [3]. The state's public prosecutors' office could not immediately be reached for comment [2].
What to watch next: German authorities continue searching for debris from the unidentified object that damaged the DHL freight jet, while federal prosecutors advance their counterterrorism investigation into the drone's perpetrators and motives without identifying those responsible.
