Mechernich is located on the outskirts of the Eifel region, southwest of Bonn. It houses an important Bundeswehr (German armed forces) base: a high-security warehouse located 130 meters underground. With an area of 30,000 square meters, it stores equipment and spare parts for the armed forces' military equipment. It is a key element of the Bundeswehr's logistics network.
But that's not all: it is here that the Bundeswehr specialists responsible for the maintenance and repair of the Patriot air defense system work. This facility, known in the armed forces as the “Patriot shipyard“, is probably the only one of its kind in Europe.
According to WDR, NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, recent drone flights over the facility are causing serious concern among security services: last Friday evening, security company employees recorded a total of six drone flights between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
During the latest observation, police officers from the Euskirchen district police station, who had already been warned, were present at the scene of the incident and witnessed at least one drone flight. One drone was even seen briefly circling over the emergency services. This information was taken from a confidential police report.
According to the report, the military police of the German Armed Forces also observed the incident from a distance of approximately 40 meters. The report notes that their preliminary assessment indicates that the drone is likely a Fly-380 VTOL model. These drones have a wingspan of approximately 3.8 meters and a range of up to 400 kilometers. They can reach speeds of up to 150 km/h and carry a payload weighing more than ten kilograms.
It is not known who is responsible for the flights over Mechernich. Drones of this type are used, among other things, for geodetic surveying and mapping, as well as for border protection and transport in hard-to-reach areas. According to available information, a preliminary investigation, which also includes the North Rhine-Westphalia Criminal Police Office and the federal security agencies, has not found any evidence that a drone mistakenly carrying out surveying work was involved in the incident.
The police are investigating alleged unauthorized filming of military installations, weapons or classified areas. The military counterintelligence service and the Joint Drone Protection Center in Berlin are also involved in the investigation.
We recall that on the night of Wednesday, August 5, a drone equipped with explosives and a detonator was found near a Ukrainian plane at a German airport. Die Zeit reported that the plane in question was an Antonov aircraft, probably belonging to the Ukrainian Air Force.