Overview
- The Deutsches Zentrum für Luft‑ und Raumfahrt (DLR) is inaugurating a technology centre in Cochstedt in mid‑August to develop and field‑test systems for detecting and countering dangerous drones under realistic conditions.
- Federal figures including Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Research Minister Dorothee Bär are expected at the opening, which links the new Cochstedt site with the DLR facility in Braunschweig.
- The Cochstedt centre is the research and testing pillar of a three‑part national drone‑defence plan that also includes a Bundespolizei drone‑defence unit and a planned joint federal–state coordination centre.
- A modified drone loaded with explosives recently discovered at Leipzig/Halle and now investigated by the Federal Public Prosecutor has accelerated the programme because the device was reportedly controlled in ways that can evade common detection systems.
- Authorities plan to grow the Bundespolizei unit to about 300 personnel and may involve the Bundeswehr for support, and Cochstedt’s realistic trials are intended to help police and agencies adopt tools that work in operational settings.