Airport disruption and cross-border sightings have sharpened Germany’s focus on rogue drones.

Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the Christian Social Union is preparing tougher rules to tackle the growing threat from drones, including allowing the Bundeswehr to assist civilian authorities in airspace security. He plans to present a draft air security law and proposes a joint drone defence centre linking federal and state agencies with the armed forces. At present, responsibility for countering drones rests with police at federal and state level.

The move follows a spate of incidents that have underscored the risk to critical infrastructure and public events. Munich airport recently cancelled 17 flights and diverted 15, affecting about 3,000 travellers, after drone sightings, including one confirmed over a Bundeswehr facility near the airport. Police also responded to a drone over Munich’s Oktoberfest, with an individual from Georgia involved. In the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, authorities have reported drones with wingspans of up to eight metres, highlighting the increasing size and sophistication of devices in German airspace.

Dobrindt will raise the issue with European counterparts as Berlin pushes for a continent-wide strategy to detect and counter drones. Belgian authorities have opened an investigation after multiple sightings over the Elsenborn military area, reporting around 15 drones, some of which were seen heading towards Germany. Local police in Düren, near the border, confirmed reports of lights in the sky but said they could not verify these were drones.

Political pressure for rapid action is mounting. Germany’s Union parliamentary leader, Jens Spahn, has called for the immediate establishment of effective drone defences. Bavaria’s Interior Minister, Joachim Herrmann of the CSU, wants police powers expanded to include shooting down drones. The government’s forthcoming draft aims to broaden the toolkit, bringing in Bundeswehr support for specialised threats while coordinating a unified response across jurisdictions.