The Bundeswehr is already upgrading systems to combat drones that are actively monitoring Ukrainians at German training sites.
In Germany, flights of suspicious drones over Bundeswehr training grounds have been observed for several months. Such reconnaissance always coincides with the training of Ukrainian officers in handling NATO weapons.
In this regard, the police is conducting an investigation to identify the people who are monitoring the military areas. Officially, law enforcement officials have not disclosed their versions, but the German media points to the path of Russian special services “actively carrying out their work” in Germany.
The day before it became known that the Bundeswehr had begun to modernize its systems to combat these drones.
First cases
German media reported that Russian intelligence agencies tried to spy on Ukrainian soldiers training on Western weapons systems in Germany at the end of August. The military guard service (MAD) noticed suspicious vehicles in the area of the military bases in Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate and Grafenwöhr in Bavaria, where the roads leading to the barracks were probably observed. Then, at Idar-Oberstein, the Bundeswehr trained Ukrainian soldiers on Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled guns, at Grafenwehr, the US armed forces trained Ukrainians to work with Western artillery systems.
The first case of espionage was officially recorded on October 2, 2022. Then unknown persons launched several drones at the Bundeswehr training ground in Wildflecken in Bavaria. UAV flights are conducted at night. The military immediately informed the Bavarian police, who launched an investigation. Note that this is still ongoing.
According to the German Ministry of Defense, at that time the Bundeswehr was training soldiers from Ukraine on the Dingo armored vehicle at night. In mid-September, the federal government announced that it would transfer 50 such vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Where else do UAVs fly?
According to Der Spiegel, suspicious drones were observed not only at Bundeswehr points in Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria, but also at a military training ground in Lower Saxony. There was at least one incident that could be considered an “attempted espionage”. At this site Ukrainian soldiers were trained on Marder and Leopard II tanks.
Note that the Bundeswehr uses nearly 1,500 properties in Germany, including military training areas, barracks, administrative buildings and district military spare parts. According to Air Traffic Rules, drones can fly close to Bundeswehr territories with a minimum distance of 100 meters.
Fight against espionage
The German Federal Ministry of Defense did not comment on “any security incidents”. But sources in the department told Tagesspiegel that due to the massive case of surveillance of military training areas, the Bundeswehr will modernize systems to combat UAVs. The interlocutor of the publication also noted that it has not been officially proven that agents of the Russian special services were behind the espionage.
The Bundeswehr currently uses HP47 jammers to counter drones. Suspicious surveillance of military installations spurred the Germans to begin purchasing new jamming equipment. Now this process has become very active, because the number of available jammers in the Bundeswehr is too small.
In particular, Germany decided to buy Jammers – mobile devices for disrupting drone radio signals: if the UAV is detected, the soldier aims a jammer at it, which “shoots” with interference instead of cartridges. Depending on the model of the drone, it may return to the exit point, land or crash. But the main purpose of the jammer is to disable the drone’s onboard camera.
For “military security reasons,” the source declined to provide exact information about the number of Jammers the Bundeswehr is buying.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.