Overview
- Police logged 16 unauthorized drone incidents in the first half of 2025 compared with 10 in all of 2024, covering sites such as rail infrastructure, military bases and government properties.
- Sightings over military facilities jumped to 11 in the first six months of 2025 after a single case in 2024, with clusters reported near Bundeswehr sites in Wartburgkreis and Kyffhäuserkreis.
- Authorities opened two investigations in 2024 and seven in 2025, identified three pilots and seized one drone, while many incidents remain unresolved.
- Germany established a joint drone‑defence center in mid‑December focused on coordination, and Thuringia appointed a police contact to work with critical‑infrastructure operators and expanded information‑sharing with the Bundeswehr and intelligence services.
- Interior Minister Georg Maier said police have basic defensive capability but a larger multi‑drone incident would require federal support, modern equipment and a national situational picture, as officials also warn about potential low‑level proxy actors.