Leipzig Airport Targeted Again As Explosive Drone Triggers Alarm
By Björn Stritzel
Key Takeaways:
- Explosive drone found near Ukraine-bound cargo plane: Authorities recovered a drone carrying PETN and Semtex next to a Ukrainian Antonov aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport, a key logistics hub for military supplies to Ukraine; the detonator failed, allowing forensic recovery.
- Second drone-related incident forced aircraft diversion: A DHL cargo plane aborted its landing, collided with an unidentified object at 400 metres, and landed damaged in Hanover after the airport’s counter-drone system detected two drones in the area.
- Incident fits pattern of suspected Russian sabotage: The event echoes earlier parcel fires at Leipzig, Warsaw and Birmingham airports, with five defendants on trial in Vilnius over packages allegedly dispatched on behalf of Russia’s GRU.
(EurActiv) — Air traffic at Leipzig/Halle Airport was suspended shortly before midnight after authorities discovered a drone carrying an explosive device.
According to Bild, the device failed to explode because its detonator was faulty. Rather than carrying out a controlled detonation, specialists from Germany’s federal police recovered the drone in a secure containment vessel for forensic examination.
As reported by Tagesschau, an initial analysis of the explosive reportedly detected nitrates; while second and third tests yielded negative results, a fourth test ultimately identified the high explosive PETN and the plastic explosive Semtex.
The drone was reportedly found directly next to a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft. Leipzig/Halle Airport serves as a major European logistics hub for military supplies for Ukraine.
A second incident reportedly occurred the same night. According to Bild, a DHL cargo aircraft was forced to abort its landing because of the airport closure.
During its go-around, the aircraft collided with an unidentified object at an altitude of around 400 metres, approximately six kilometres from the airport.
It remains unclear whether the object was also a drone. However, the airport’s counter-drone system reportedly detected two drones in the area.
The DHL plane later landed safely in Hanover, where inspectors found damage to the aircraft. German authorities are treating the incident as a national security matter.
The incident is not the first suspected sabotage operation involving explosives in Leipzig. Almost exactly two years ago, a parcel caught fire at the airport. Similar parcel fires were also reported in Warsaw and Birmingham.
Five defendants are currently on trial in Vilnius over the parcel incidents. According to findings by German investigators, the packages were dispatched on behalf of Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU.
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