Security situation: Threat at NATO airfield? What we know and what we don’t

NATO has tightened security at its air base in Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, and sent employees home. What is known so far:

WHAT WE KNOW

What it’s about: NATO’s early warning and control force has increased the security level at its air base in Geilenkirchen near Aachen, as was announced on Thursday evening. The second highest level, Charlie, now applies. All employees who were not required for the mission were sent home as a precautionary measure, said a spokesman for the air base. The reason for this was intelligence information that pointed to a possible threat.

What is the Charlie security level? In NATO jargon, this means that an incident has occurred or there is evidence that some form of terrorist action against the alliance is very likely. “This is not a cause for concern and is purely a precautionary measure to ensure that we can continue our critical operations,” said the air base spokesman.

The highest level is Delta. This is generally declared by NATO when a terrorist attack has occurred or is imminent.

The air base: NATO has stationed the AWACS flying early warning system in Geilenkirchen near Aachen. 14 converted Boeing 707 aircraft monitor the airspace with the aim of early detection of possible dangers and advance warning of the alliance. The multinational unit provides classic air and sea surveillance and is used as a kind of flying command center in combat aircraft operations.

The unit has taken part in numerous operations, such as in the Balkans and Afghanistan. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO temporarily relocated aircraft to Romania.

Investigations: The Cologne police took over the investigation in the evening. No further details were given, including the number of officers deployed. A dpa reporter on site observed that police cars were on the premises.

Security situation: According to media reports, US military bases in Germany and other European countries were already on high alert in July due to the threat of terrorism. The Pentagon declared the second-highest security level, Charlie, at the bases over the weekend, reported the US broadcaster CNN at the time, citing two unnamed government officials. The nature of the alleged threat remained unclear.

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

What’s behind it: Why the security level was finally increased in Geilenkirchen and what could be behind it is something we can only speculate about at the moment. The police, the Ministry of Defense and NATO have not provided any information on this.

Possible connections: According to media reports, several drones were seen over an industrial site in Brunsbüttel on Thursday. Where they came from and what their destination was is unknown. It is not known whether this is related to the increased security level in Geilenkirchen.

It is also not known whether cases of sabotage at several Bundeswehr locations around a week ago had anything to do with the security level in Geilenkirchen. At that time, however, the all-clear was given after an inspection. For example, the police and state security were investigating a security incident at the waterworks at the Cologne-Wahn air force barracks on suspicion that the drinking water might have been contaminated.

Suspicious observations were also made in Geilenkirchen. According to information from security circles, a person was taken into custody in the vicinity of the airport for questioning, but the suspicion was not confirmed.

Restricted air traffic: It was unclear whether the planned air traffic at the air base in Geilenkirchen could be resumed on Friday. A press spokesman for the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force (AWACS) Geilenkirchen initially only said that the increased security level would probably apply until Friday morning.