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The German government has approved a proposal to allow the military to shoot down unmanned aircraft after a spate of suspicious activity near military bases, critical infrastructure and industrial sites.
Prime Minister Olaf Scholz’s cabinet on Wednesday approved the plan, which must be passed by the Bundestag, as part of efforts to expand the country’s response to Russian and Chinese spying allegations.
Amendments to the Aviation Security Act will allow the military to use force to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles if there is a threat to important facilities or a danger to human life that cannot be dealt with by the police.
This follows recent incidents involving drone sightings at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, a facility hosting training for Ukrainian soldiers, and a facility belonging to German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall. In November, a drone approached a British aircraft carrier in Hamburg.
Until now, the Bundeswehr (German military) was only authorized to chase away drones, force them to land, and fire warning shots. Police and military also use jamming techniques.
But authorities say they are alarmed by the growing number of drones that are resistant to such protection methods. They wonder if more sophisticated models not commercially available are being deployed by hostile state actors at a time when NATO members are facing a sharp increase in what they see as hybrid warfare tactics by Russia and China. I doubt it.
These concerns led Interior Minister Nancy Fazer and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to push for legal changes.
Feser said Wednesday that since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in earnest in 2022, “we’re seeing drones being used more and more frequently, and that’s a challenge for police and their current technology.” “This is becoming an increasingly important issue.”
The changes will “strengthen protection of critical infrastructure,” she said. And it shows that we will not be intimidated and will stand firm against current threats. ”
The amendment still needs approval from Congress, which no longer has a majority after Scholz’s three-party coalition government collapsed in November. It remains unclear whether the changes will meet the approval of lawmakers.
Günther Klings, legal and policy spokesman for the opposition Christian Democrats, criticized the proposal this week as “largely symbolic” and would allow the Bundeswehr to take swift and decisive action when needed. He said that more fundamental changes to the law were needed.
Ulrike Franke, a drone expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said the change was welcome because “the law has reality behind it.”
But she said shooting down a drone should always be a last resort.
“What you want to do is use electronic means to intercept the drone and analyze it to find the operator.”
