Overview

• The Bavarian cabinet approved a draft to amend the police law, authorizing detection, electronic takeover, net capture and, as a last resort, shoot-downs.
• The push follows recent drone sightings that temporarily halted flights at Munich Airport and exposed gaps in detection and response.
• Bavaria will establish a Drone Competence and Defense Center in Erding to build capabilities and coordinate with the Bundeswehr, Bundespolizei and other agencies.
• The plan envisages deploying equipped units across the Bereitschaftspolizei, but procurement timelines, unit training and overall costs remain open.
• Legal experts warn any shoot-down must meet strict proportionality standards due to collateral-damage risks, with decisions left to police incident commanders in emergencies.