Over 500 spy drones spotted over Germany during first quarter of year

This was reported by Bild, citing a secret report entitled “Drones as a Means of Crime” by the State Security Department of the Federal Criminal Police Office, according to Ukrinform.

From January to March this year, 270 incidents involving 536 drones or unmanned aerial vehicles were reported. In at least 55 cases, two or more drones were spotted simultaneously, according to the document, which claims to be the first analysis of the aerial threat.

The drones were mostly spotted in the evenings (45%, from 6 p.m. to midnight) and at night (28%, from midnight to 6 a.m.). During the day, the number is lower: 13 percent in the morning and 14 percent in the afternoon. Most sightings occurred on Wednesdays, Tuesdays, and Mondays.

The number one target is military facilities. There were 117 reports from these locations alone. Of particular interest are the Bundeswehr Naval Base in Wilhelmshaven (Lower Saxony), where 10 flights were recorded, the U.S. Air Base in Ramstein (Rhineland-Palatinate), and in Bremerhaven (15 cases).

Drone flights were observed over defense facilities and government and administrative buildings of the federal states.

The power supply system is also in the sights of those who launch drones. In the first quarter, 88 incidents were recorded.

Most of them occurred at LNG terminals in Stade and Wilhelmshaven (both in Lower Saxony) and Brunsbüttel (Schleswig-Holstein).

Civil airports, ports, and railway stations were also monitored.

The public prosecutor's office has initiated a total of 123 criminal proceedings in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria, and North Rhine-Westphalia. However, only 10 drone operators have been identified in eight cases.

The Federal Criminal Police Office warns that some drones could not be detected by surveillance systems or radars used by both the military and the police.

Undetected drones, in particular, indicate that these are non-commercial or military drones, as military and commercially available drone detection systems usually detect all known aircraft, the report says. Its authors note that if systems do not detect drones, this may be a sign of deliberate manipulation or the use of homemade drones.

As reported, Russia has been waging a hybrid and espionage war against Europe for years, but this activity has intensified significantly since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In particular, in December 2024 and January 2025, unknown drones were spotted flying over the Ramstein Air Base, which was the venue for meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

Photo: ukraineohchr.wixstudio.com