Overview

• The cabinet approved a revision of the Federal Police Act that authorizes “physical means” against hostile drones, with the interior minister saying interception and, in danger cases, shoot-downs would be permitted.
• The text references physical effects but does not explicitly list interception or shooting down, a legal nuance noted even as officials frame the powers as covering both actions.
• About €90 million per year and 341 additional staff are planned for counter‑drone systems, alongside a new Bundespolizei drone‑defence unit and a joint federal–state centre slated to start operating this year.
• The bill also broadens policing tools, including phone interception and location techniques such as silent SMS, automatic access to non‑Schengen passenger data, detention of enforceably deportable individuals, random checks in weapons‑ban zones, and the use of police drones as “mobile sensor carriers.”
• A separate amendment to the Aviation Security Act is being prepared to clarify Bundeswehr assistance against higher‑end or military drones, while states like Bavaria and Hesse press ahead with their own measures as unions seek faster kit and critics warn of civil‑liberties and constitutional risks.