Grand councillor sounds the alarm Drone spotted over Aargau electricity hub
An unknown drone was spotted over a Swissgrid node in Laufenburg AG in October. The origin and intention are unclear. Daniel Mezzi, a member of the local municipal council, has now submitted an interpellation.
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- A large, unknown drone was spotted above the Swissgrid hub in Laufenburg AG in October.
- Its origin and purpose are still unclear.
- Daniel Mezzi, member of the cantonal parliament, is demanding answers from the canton on how critical infrastructure can be better protected against such incidents.
Drones have been spotted repeatedly over Europe recently. For example in Copenhagen or over a NATO base in Belgium. Unknown drones have also recently appeared over critical infrastructure in Switzerland.
Center politician Daniel Mezzi has now submitted an interpellation. In October, large drones were reportedly spotted over a large switching station belonging to electricity grid operator Swissgrid in Laufenburg AG - but it remains unclear who was flying them and with what purpose, as reported by theAargauer Zeitungnewspaper.
It is the "Star of Laufenburg", which brings together 41 lines at the highest grid level and, as an electricity hub, makes an indispensable contribution to the European energy supply, as Mezzi writes in a submission.
Drone is said to have had a diameter of 2.5 meters
When asked by the "Aargauer Zeitung", Mezzi said that the drone had been spotted by several construction workers, including an employee of the Flex Base company. The company is currently building a technology center with a large battery storage facility right next to the "Star of Laufenburg".
The drone had a diameter of around 2.5 meters, according to the councillor. This is large compared to classic photo or video drones.
Neither the flying object nor the pilot controlling the drone have yet been identified. As Swissgrid spokesperson Gabriele Crivelli explained to the "Aargauer Zeitung" newspaper, companies are currently not allowed to use their own systems to defend against unknown drones. In an interpellation, Grand Councillor Mezzi is now demanding information from the Aargau cantonal government on how the protection of critical infrastructure is to be guaranteed in future, the newspaper continues.
Warnings from the federal government too
This is the first publicly known incident in Switzerland in which one of the unknown drones has been spotted over a critical infrastructure site - but they have probably been flying in Swiss airspace for some time: in spring 2025, Swiss Army soldiers reported sightings of drones during an exercise over the military site in Meiringen BE.
Federal Councillor Martin Pfister also warned that Switzerland was vulnerable in terms of security policy - from drone flights and insufficient ammunition reserves to the protection of future F-35 sites. Security is a basic prerequisite for prosperity - Switzerland must invest more in defense and cooperation with partners.
Pfister also conceded that Switzerland would have had no chance in a drone attack. Switzerland would have been defenceless in such a scenario. "No, the drones could not have been shot down," said Pfister in September.
