Overview

• Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt says the Bundespolizei will add a dedicated counter-drone unit by year-end, with a joint federal–state defense center scheduled for 2025.
• The German Aviation Association, led by Condor CEO Peter Gerber, demands clear authority to shoot down threatening drones and warns disruptions cause multimillion-euro hourly losses and rising fares.
• Deutsche Flugsicherung concedes its radars cannot reliably detect small drones, leaving responses to pilot reports or police sightings after incidents such as the temporary shutdown in Munich.
• Vendors including Dedrone say signal-based networks can be rapidly deployed to locate and identify drones down to serial numbers, arguing attribution should come before kinetic measures.
• Political responses vary, with Bremen’s Greens urging mobile teams and federal legal assignment to the Bundespolizei, Bavaria approving police powers to destroy unidentified drones, and experts cautioning that shoot-downs over populated areas pose safety risks.