Marc Henrichmann, chairman of the Bundestag Parliamentary Control Committee, has proposed authorizing German intelligence services to execute preventive cyber operations targeting Russian unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing facilities. The proposed authority for the Federal Intelligence Service and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution forms part of a broader intelligence reform scheduled for government discussion.
The legislative push follows a major security breach at Leipzig Airport, where an FPV drone carrying a Semtex explosive charge struck the wing near the fuel tanks of a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft. The device failed to detonate, bounced off the structure, and lay undetected for four hours before discovery. US intelligence authorities subsequently linked the operation to Russian intelligence services, prompting a review by Germany’s National Security Council.
Henrichmann advocated for a structural shift in intelligence capabilities, arguing that passive information gathering is insufficient to protect domestic infrastructure and personnel. He stated that security agencies require modernized legal and technical mechanisms to neutralize threats at their source, emphasizing that neutralizing an offensive drone or disabling its production infrastructure prior to launch is the most effective defense against strikes targeting domestic airports or public safety. Russian diplomatic representatives in Berlin have rejected the findings, characterizing the Leipzig incident as a fabricated provocation.
