3 weeks ago
German Prosecutors Probe Suspected Drone Attack at NATO Cargo Airport
A big airport in Germany called Leipzig/Halle found something scary late on Tuesday.
Workers discovered a drone carrying real explosives and a detonator.
Investigators think someone wanted the drone to blow up.
Luckily, the bomb did not go off, and a newspaper says a technical problem stopped it.
Another drone may have hit a cargo plane near the airport, but that plane landed safely with only small damage.
This airport is very important because it helps NATO, a group of countries that work together to stay safe.
NATO uses the airport to fly supplies and equipment to protect its member countries.
Germany's Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, called this a "hybrid attack," which means a sneaky kind of attack that mixes different methods.
The top national investigators in Germany are now working on the case to find out who is responsible.
German federal prosecutors found sufficient evidence that a drone discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Tuesday was intended to cause an explosion.
The drone was equipped with professional explosives and a detonator; Bild reported a technical defect may have prevented it from detonating.
A second object, suspected to be another drone, collided with a cargo jet attempting a go-around; the plane landed in Hanover with minor damage.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as a hybrid attack.
Leipzig/Halle is a key cargo and NATO logistics hub and the main base for NATO's Strategic Airlift International Solution (SALIS).
- Who
- Federal prosecutors (Office of the Federal Prosecutor), airport workers, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, and NATO's SALIS operation
- What
- A drone equipped with professional explosives and a detonator, apparently intended to explode, was found at Leipzig/Halle Airport near Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo planes; a second suspected drone struck a cargo jet.
- Where
- Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany; the cargo jet landed in Hanover
- When
- Late Tuesday, when the drone was discovered; investigation continues
- Why
- Authorities suspect a serious attack on Germany's transport and logistics infrastructure, which serves as a key NATO logistics hub
Key facts
- Location
- Leipzig/Halle Airport, eastern Germany
- Discovery
- Drone found by airport workers late on Tuesday
- Device
- Drone with professional explosives and a detonator
- Suspected intent
- Sufficient evidence suggests it was intended to cause an explosion
- Second object
- Suspected drone collided with a cargo jet, which landed in Hanover with minor damage
- Investigation
- Office of the Federal Prosecutor, taking over from Dresden prosecutors; probing a serious attack on transport and logistics infrastructure
- Official response
- Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called it a hybrid attack
- Strategic role
- Main base for NATO's Strategic Airlift International Solution (SALIS)
Quotes
Alexander Dobrindt
Interior Minister of Germany
“"Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as a hybrid attack."”
deccanchronicle.com
“"The drone had been equipped with professional explosives and a detonator."”
deccanchronicle.com










