Germany German government plans to expand drone defense by the end of the year
Following drone sightings and airport closures in Germany, the German government has specified plans for improved drone defense: A drone defense unit is to be added to the special units of the federal police before the end of this year.
08.10.2025, 16:48
SDA
A planned drone defense center of the state and the 16 German states is also to go into operation this year. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced both in Berlin when asked by journalists.
Merz: Drone incidents threaten our security
The CDU/CSU and SPD government had previously passed a draft for a new Federal Police Act, which provides for a significant expansion of the powers of the Federal Police in addition to powers to defend against drones.
Questions regarding the responsibilities of the federal police or the police units of the federal states had previously made action against drones very complicated. The federal police are considered to be better equipped and more experienced in combating drones.
The German head of government Friedrich Merz commented on Platform X with the words: "The drone incidents threaten our security. We will not allow this to happen. We are strengthening the powers of the federal police: so that drones can be tracked down and repelled more quickly in future."
Dobrindt called the reform of the Federal Police Act, which still needs the approval of the Bundestag, the German parliament, and the Bundesrat - the chamber of the 16 federal states - a major step forward. Drones are not even mentioned in the 30-year-old law. New paragraphs should now clearly define that the Federal Police can defend against drones in their areas of responsibility (for example airports and railroad infrastructure) and also deploy drones themselves ("mobile sensor carriers"), for example at demonstrations.
Defense center to bundle competencies
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the drone defense center planned by Dobrindt is intended to bundle the competencies of the federal government, the federal states and the Bundeswehr. The aim is to interlink police and military drone defense even more closely and to develop new defense capabilities. The drone defense unit of the federal police should always be equipped with the latest technologies in the race between drone threat and defense, the minister had already announced.
In addition, an amendment to the Aviation Security Act is also planned in order to legally enable the Federal Armed Forces to provide administrative assistance in the event of a drone threat, for example if military drones are located at high altitude.
In addition to the new regulations on drones, the draft reform of the Federal Police Act contains further changes:
* In future, the federal police will also be allowed to tap phones and collect location and other user data, for example to prevent extremists from entering the country or to uncover smuggling routes.
* They will be allowed to detain people who are required to leave the country if they are apprehended in their area of responsibility so that they cannot disappear again.
* In addition, the federal police will be given the right to carry out "random checks without cause" in weapon and knife prohibition zones at train stations or on trains.
Police union satisfied, but...
The police union (GdP) welcomed the plans. The head of the GdP, Jochen Kopelke, spoke of a modern law "that offers us in the police force new opportunities to protect the population and improve the fight against crime".
However, Andreas Rosskopf, the GdP chairman responsible for the federal police, pointed out that the federal police still lack sufficient technology when it comes to drone defense. "We already have jamming technology in isolated cases, but not yet across the board," he told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. The Federal Minister of the Interior must provide additional funding so that the acquisition can go ahead.
Left warns of "surveillance state"
Criticism of the legislative plans came from the Left Party: "Surveillance of telecommunications, access to passenger data, residence bans - the draft law reads like a manual for a surveillance state. It will not create security, but will lead to an erosion of fundamental rights and freedoms," said Clara Bünger, domestic policy spokesperson for the left-wing parliamentary group.
The Federal Police is under the authority of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and is responsible for border security, security at railroad stations, airports and federal bodies such as the Federal Chancellery. It also provides administrative assistance when requested by state authorities.
