Germany aims to allow the military to shoot down suspicious drones spotted near military installations or other critical infrastructure.

The BBC and ZDF reported on this.

“Especially after the start of Putin’s aggressive war against Ukraine, we see drones being used more and more often, which poses an increasing challenge to the police and their modern technology,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

This refers to the amendments to the law on aviation security introduced by the federal government on January 15. The final decision will be made by the members of the Bundestag.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser have called for increased protection of the country’s key facilities. There is speculation that the drones appearing in German skies may be launched by foreign countries for the purpose of espionage or sabotage.

Feather emphasized that the use of drones had increased significantly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

She noted that it created new challenges for law enforcement agencies and their technological capabilities.

Current German law allows the military to distract drones, threaten the use of force, or fire warning shots.

However, shooting them down is still prohibited even in cases where they pose a serious threat.

In addition, the police of the region where the drone was found are responsible for it, and a number of bureaucratic procedures must be completed to neutralize the drone.

It was recently reported that in Germany, unidentified drones had been spotted over the Rhineland-Palatinate at the end of 2024, but had not been shot down or intercepted.

Before Christmas 2024, a “massive invasion” of drones took place over Rhineland-Palatinate, with some of them allegedly flying near military installations.