exclusive
According to information from the Bundeswehr, military training areas appear WDR and NDR There has been an increasing number of drones since the start of the war in Ukraine. Security authorities fear that Russia is spying on the training of Ukrainian soldiers.
They were hardly noticeable as they stood almost silently in the sky, usually for several minutes. This is how someone describes it who claims to have seen several drones over Bundeswehr military training areas. It doesn’t take long – and then the small flying objects are gone again.
In fact, drones are said to have become a significant security risk on Bundeswehr properties. The security authorities suspect that Russia is using the aircraft to spy on Ukrainian soldiers training in Germany.
As early as 2022, when the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began, the current Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Carsten Breuer, warned against “reconnaissance flights with drones over barracks”. The following year, the Bundeswehr launched its own “drone” task force. But not much more is known so far. According to the Ministry of Defense, the details are classified.
Significant increase since the start of the Ukraine war
How WDR and NDR As we have now learned, the extent of the possible threat is astonishingly large – the topic was also said to have been discussed in the Chancellery a few days ago.
The federal government also had to disclose some information in response to a small question from the Union parliamentary group. According to the new information, the number of reported drone sightings over or in the immediate vicinity of Bundeswehr properties and military training areas has recently increased significantly.
The numbers have risen sharply since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began. While there have been nine drone sightings since the start of the Bundestag’s current legislative period from September 2021, there were already 172 in the entire year of 2022. The number then increased again: in 2023 there were 446 reported drone sightings.
More sightings – including when training Ukrainians
When asked, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense generally spoke of an “increased number of reports of drone sightings and alleged spying attempts, also in connection with training measures by the Ukrainian armed forces.”
However, according to the spokesman, it is difficult to reliably attribute such sightings because commercially available drones are freely available. What is known, however, is that “foreign intelligence services basically use all available technical means” to obtain information.
Russian attempt to locate Ukrainian cell phones?
According to information from WDR and NDR There is currently no documented Russian spying attempt using drones. In security circles, however, several possibilities are mentioned as to why Russia could spy in this way: On the one hand, the number of trainees or the content of the training would be of interest to Russia.
There is also talk of possible IMSI catchers being used. These devices pretend to be a cell phone tower – and are used to locate and identify cell phones: for example, the cell phones of Ukrainian soldiers who are being trained in Germany. With this information, the devices could later be located when deployed at the front.
Difficult to clearly assign drones to Moscow
The President of the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD), Martina Rosenberg, was one of the first to speak publicly about the danger posed by drone overflights in 2022. At a meeting of the Parliamentary Control Committee (PKGr) she warned of an “immediate potential threat” as soon as it affected relevant training locations.
According to the MAD president, these are small quadcopters, for example, which are often gone quickly. The Bundeswehr is responsible for protecting the military training areas – outside of that, the respective local police are responsible. They’re trying to “get the things in order to be able to create an attribution,” explained Rosenberg to members of the Bundestag. However, according to Rosenberg, there is not just a “Z” on a drone – the MAD president was alluding to the Russian symbol for the war of aggression. She explained back then: They were working on a way to protect properties from such overflights.
Bundeswehr apparently uses jammers
According to the Ministry of Defense, protection against spying by drones has already been increased through numerous measures. Certain training exercises have been relocated to areas protected from view. Soldiers are also encouraged to report any abnormalities.
According to the spokesman, the Bundeswehr also has the “capability to defend and secure” drones. According to information from WDR and NDR These are various defense and surveillance systems or jammers that could cause drones to crash.
Investigation into intercepted drone
However, given the sharp increase in numbers, it is questionable to what extent the Bundeswehr locations are actually adequately secured. In recent weeks, demands from politicians for an actual protection concept have become louder. Among other things, it is criticized that two years after the start of the war it is still not clear who will take on which task in drone defense – and which devices would be useful for this.
But there is a report of success: According to information from WDR and NDR a drone was fended off for the first time – and caused it to crash. The device was seized and investigations are currently underway.