German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has called for calm after the recent drone incidents and said that the Bundeswehr cannot be present everywhere drones appear and shoot them down.
„The Bundeswehr cannot be present everywhere drones appear in Germany and shoot them down. It is much more important that state and federal police forces develop the necessary capabilities to operate at a certain altitude. And when it comes to critical infrastructure, the operators themselves are also involved. The police cannot protect every power plant,“ Pistorius said in an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper. However, he noted that the Bundeswehr must focus on its mission.
The German Defense Minister emphasized that “in the future, the Bundeswehr will also be able to repel drone attacks outside its territorial jurisdiction if the police request assistance in special cases“, he explained. At the same time, the minister called for calm after the drone incidents over German airports, noting that he understood the public's uncertainty.
„We have not yet had such a debate in Germany. That is why it is so important to assess the situation soberly and calmly: the drones that have been spotted so far do not pose any specific threat. We have the capabilities to respond to them, even if we do not yet have all the countermeasures that we would like. The main thing is that we are making significant progress in the area of drone protection,“ concluded Pistorius.
He expressed skepticism about the idea of Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt to set up a drone protection center. “This center would only be responsible for potential threats posed by drones. However, we must anticipate that there may be multiple threat scenarios. That is why we first need comprehensive, 24/7 situational awareness,“ said Pistorius.
“All the data necessary to assess the security situation in Germany must be collected in one place. Only then will we be able to determine whether there is a possible connection and common cause for these seemingly isolated events,“ concluded the German Defense Minister.