Germany cabinet ordered for shoot down drones near military sites

BERLIN, Jan 16: Germany’s cabinet has decided to authorise the army to shoot down suspicious drones seen near military sites or other critical infrastructure, media reports said.
A statement from Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that “especially since [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, we have seen that drones are being used more and more frequently, which poses an increasing challenge for the police and their current technology,” the BBC reported.
Russia is suspected of launching a “shadow war” against Western countries supporting Ukraine – a charge it denies.
This has included alleged attempts to blow up international airliners, attack infrastructure – or interfere with democratic elections.
“I can only confirm that Russia planned acts of air terror, not just against Poland but against airlines across the globe,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday.
He did not give any details, but his statement appeared to be confirmation of a New York Times report that US President Joe Biden had warned Putin over the alleged plans.
According to reports, there have been several instances of unidentified drones flying over military bases recently.
At least 10 such drones had been seen flying above Manching Air Base near the city of Ingolstadt on Sunday evening, German police said.
Last month, there were sightings at Manching and nearby Neuburg an der Donau. Drones were also spotted at the US air base at Ramstein and at an industrial zone near it in the North Sea, the report said.
In her statement, Interior Minister Faeser said, “espionage or sabotage are regularly considered as a possible reason”.
According to reports, under the current rules, the German Army can only help police to force drones to move away or to land – but also to fire warning shots to make this happen.
Under the new proposals – which still need parliamentary approval – soldiers may shoot a drone down if they think that is the only way to deal with the danger it poses “against the lives of people or against a critical facility”.
(UNI)