Third drone and explosives found near Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany
Investigators found a third drone and suspected military explosives linked to an attack attempt on Leipzig/Halle Airport earlier this month. Chancellor Merz warned perpetrators "will pay a price."
Third drone and suspected explosives uncovered in Leipzig/Halle Airport investigation
German investigators have discovered a third drone and what they believe to be a quantity of military-grade explosive near Leipzig/Halle Airport, Google News MT reports, citing public broadcasters NDR and WDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The finds are believed to be connected to an attempted attack on the airport earlier this month.
The third drone was found west of the airport on 14 August — ten days after the initial incident on 5 August. Investigators also recovered around 50 grams of what they suspect is hexogen, a military explosive, according to local media.
A separate line of inquiry led officers to Kursdorf, north of the airport, where they found a device believed to have been used to control a drone. An antenna and electronic components had been taped to a tree. In the immediate vicinity, emergency services also found scorched earth and metal fragments. Investigators are examining whether the location could be a blast site.
The original incident
German police deployed a bomb disposal robot overnight into 5 August after a drone was found on the tarmac near a Ukrainian cargo plane, triggering alarm and forcing the diversion of numerous flights. One aircraft that had to abort its scheduled landing at Leipzig/Halle then collided mid-air with an unknown object nearby, before landing safely elsewhere, the government said.
A NATO spokesperson later confirmed that the drone had been equipped with explosives and a detonator, and had been found near an aircraft belonging to Ukrainian cargo carrier Antonov Airlines. According to the Kyiv Independent, the suspicious object was destroyed in a controlled explosion.
Police spokesperson Olaf Hoppe told Euronews that an object had been found near the southern runway at the same time as the initial drone sighting, which federal police then examined. X-ray analysis confirmed it to be a drone. Hoppe declined to confirm at the time that a drone had been sighted.
Video footage from a local news agency showed the bomb disposal robot near an Antonov plane painted in the Ukrainian colours of yellow and blue, with the words "Be Brave Like Kherson" written on the side — a reference to a Ukrainian region affected by Russian strikes.
The Bild daily reported that the aircraft that suffered a mid-air collision was a DHL cargo plane, struck approximately six kilometres from the airport. It sustained minor damage to the nose, discovered after landing safely at Hanover airport.
Merz warns perpetrators will face consequences
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that those behind hybrid attacks against Germany "will pay for them," without naming any specific suspect or group. Germany had increasingly "found itself in the crosshairs of hybrid attackers," Merz said, referring directly to the Leipzig airport incident.
A strategic hub under scrutiny
Leipzig/Halle Airport plays a significant logistical role in the transport of military goods, including for the German military and NATO allies. It also serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines.
German authorities, as well as those in other European countries, have repeatedly observed drones flying over sensitive installations including airports, military bases and industrial plants. Germany — one of Ukraine's largest military supporters — has said it suspects Russia of orchestrating many such incidents as part of a campaign of sabotage, espionage and disinformation. Russia has denied any involvement.
The Leipzig airport has previously been the scene of suspected sabotage. In July 2024, a parcel caught fire on the ground before it could be loaded onto a DHL cargo aircraft, in what security services treated as a suspected Moscow-linked arson plot. Last year, a Chinese national was convicted for passing information on flight schedules and cargo movements at the airport to a man spying for Beijing.
Drone incidents rising across Germany
Drone sightings over sensitive sites in Germany are becoming more frequent. The country's air navigation service DFS recorded 144 drone overflights last year, with 35 incidents concentrated around Frankfurt Airport.
In October last year, a laser installation was deployed near Munich Airport to protect it from drone activity, after the facility was closed for two consecutive days following suspicious sightings. In November, flight operations at Berlin's Brandenburg Airport were interrupted for around two hours due to a drone sighting in its airspace.
Source: Google News MT