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Thuringia Records Surge in Drone Overflights Over Military Sites

Leaders seek a national situational picture after a new coordination hub launched to strengthen detection and response.

Overview

  • Official data show 16 drone incidents in the first half of 2025 versus 10 in all of 2024, with a pronounced shift toward sensitive locations.
  • Eleven sightings in early 2025 occurred over Bundeswehr facilities, up from a single such case in 2024, including repeated flights near kasernes in Wartburgkreis and Kyffhäuserkreis.
  • Police opened seven investigations in 2025 after two in 2024, identifying three pilots and seizing one drone, while most operators remain unknown.
  • Bund and Länder established a joint drone defense center in mid-December, which Interior Minister Georg Maier called an important step toward coordinated countermeasures.
  • Thuringia named a police contact to brief critical-infrastructure operators and intensified exchanges with the Bundeswehr and intelligence services, as security officials warned about potential use of low-level “disposable agents”; nationally, the BKA logged more than 1,000 suspicious drone flights in 2025.