Overview

• The Bavarian cabinet presented a draft amendment to the Police Tasks Act to expand drone detection and, in narrowly defined emergencies, allow police shootdowns.
• Multiple drone sightings near Munich Airport recently halted flights, triggered cancellations, and stranded thousands, with a drone also reported near a nearby Bundeswehr site.
• Legal scholar Verena Jackson urged strict proportionality and case-by-case risk assessments, warning that debris and unknown payloads make shootdowns over populated areas hazardous.
• Police unions GdP and DPolG pressed for rapid procurement of modern detection and counter‑UAS equipment, while Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt promoted a joint national drone‑defense center and noted potential Bundeswehr assistance depending on drone type.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Bavarian Premier Markus Söder have floated possible Russian involvement, which the Kremlin denies, and authorities have not identified who is responsible.