Drone Found Near Ukrainian An-124 in Germany, Possible Sabotage Investigated

A drone was found near a Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan transport aircraft at Leipzig Airport in Germany during the night of August 5. It may have been equipped with explosives.

Bild reported the incident.

The drone was discovered shortly before midnight near the runway in the airport’s cargo area.

According to several other German media outlets, the object was likely a modified commercially available drone. Judging by the images, it appears to have been an FPV drone.

Police said an object attached to the drone may have been an explosive device with a detonator.

To neutralize the drone, bomb disposal experts were to perform a controlled detonation using a specialized robot.

Police are currently searching for the drone operator and investigating the possibility of deliberate sabotage.

The incident temporarily disrupted airport operations, and several flights were diverted to other airports. It is unknown whether the drone was ultimately detonated in a controlled explosion.

The An-124 Ruslan near which the drone was discovered belongs to the Ukrainian Antonov Airlines.

The company uses Leipzig Airport as a temporary base for its aircraft after Russian forces destroyed its home airport in Hostomel in 2022.

Last year, construction of a large maintenance facility for the fleet of heavy An-124 cargo aircraft began at the German airport. The new hangar will cover about 24,000 square meters, with completion scheduled for 2027.

Six Ukrainian Ruslan aircraft are currently based in Leipzig. They are named Bucha, Irpin, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Okhtyrka, and Kherson. The aircraft are used, among other things, to carry out transport missions for NATO and individual alliance members.