Security: shooting drones? Dobrindt plans law reform

Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt wants to significantly expand the powers of the Bundeswehr in the fight against illegal drone survival. “In the Air Security Act, I want to fix that the Bundeswehr can do the police in internal administrative assistance-especially in the event of drone defense operations,” said the CSU politician of the “Rheinische Post”. Dobrindt wants to get the legal basis this autumn, as he said to journalists in Berlin.

According to information from the “Bild” newspaper, it is a central component of the planned reform that the Bundeswehr may shoot drones in the event of an acute threat. This should therefore be possible if this is the only means of defending a serious misfortune.

The traffic light government had already launched a corresponding change to the Air Security Act in January. The new regulation should enable the armed forces to use “weapons against unmanned aircraft”. Because of the early Bundestag election, this was no longer implemented.

Track down, intercept, shoot

Dobrindt said in Berlin that it was about tracking down, intercepting and also shooting drones. “These are the basics we are talking about when we reorganize ourselves for the drone defense.” The number of drone sightings increases. “From this one can also conclude that the threat situation becomes higher,” said Dobrindt.

He restricted that a pure overflight does not necessarily mean an acute danger. So far, the position images had shown that no acute, concrete danger had assumed the boys. “Nevertheless, this is something that we have to take seriously because this can quickly result in a danger.”

Most recently, drones in Denmark had paralyzed airports for hours, at least one drone was discovered again on Friday evening, this time according to the Ritzau news agency at the Karup military base. On the night of Friday, missiles were also spotted in Schleswig-Holstein.

According to the figures of German air traffic control, there have recently been significantly more disruptions from drones at German airports. In the current year, 144 disabilities by drones have already been registered by the end of August. In the previous year it was 113 in the same period, only 99 in 2023.

Report: catalog of measures against drones

According to “Bild”, the drone defense plans of the Black-Red Federal Government also include a catalog of measures in addition to the adaptation of the Air Security Act, which provides for the use and classification of illegal drones, the use of electronic resources such as stab beer or the assumption of the control as well as the use of weapon power. Above all, human life as well as critical infrastructures such as energy supply and government buildings should be protected.

A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced on request that votes for a reform of the Federal Police Act and an adaptation of the Air Security Act were currently on request. The ministry did not want to comment in more detail.

“Find, fend off, intercept”

Dobrindt cited in the “Rheinische Post” as the goal of building a German drone competence center in which the federal government, the federal states and the Bundeswehr are networked. On Thursday, the minister in the Bundestag had already announced a legal reform: “We are in a race between drone threat and drone defense. That is why we will invest more in this arms race, both by means of the design of a new air security law as well as with financial resources, and according to the principle” track down, fend off, intercept “.

Possible new edition of a traffic light reform

Shortly before the Bundestag election, the traffic lights had cited as a reason for the planned enforcement of the law that there were regular illegal flights of unmanned drones in Germany through the facilities of the critical infrastructure – i.e. systems for energy, telecommunications, transport or industry.

According to the information at that time, it was planned that the Bundeswehr should receive the authority in the event of a threatening particularly serious accident to ward off illegally flying drones. The prerequisite is that the police police, which are fundamentally responsible for the danger defense, are technically unable to do so and require appropriate support.

Air Security Act sets limits

So far, the Aviation Security Act has only allowed the Bundeswehr to use comparatively mild funds. In this way, the armed forces are allowed to push aircraft in the airspace, force to land, threaten the use of weapons or warning shots.

A shooting down by drones is also legally possible, as the legal scholar Verena Jackson from the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich emphasized on Friday on request. However, this must be proportionate and also mountains considerable dangers – for example through falling debris or explosive cargo and has therefore hardly been considered so far.

“Shooting in the air is basically prohibited”

The commander of the Bundeswehr state command Thuringia, Colonel Klaus Glaab, also pointed out the proportionality in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” a few days ago. “Based on shooting in the air, it is basically forbidden because projectiles or parts of it can be outside the barracks. Then people could be endangered or destroyed things.”

The Bundeswehr General Inspector, Carsten Breuer, had recently announced that the fight against drone was emphasized. Experts also cite radio disorders, so-called GPS spoofing, interception drones, networks or laser systems, as measures for drone fighting.