The drone sightings could be a part of a “large-scale espionage” operation, local media have claimed
German police have launched a probe into “suspicious” drone sightings near the only military base in the country where Ukrainian troops are trained to operate US-made Patriot missile batteries. The move comes after Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Saturday revealed a confidential German military (Bundeswehr) report acknowledging the sightings and stating that “Investigations are underway on suspicion of espionage.”
“Multi-wing aircraft… hovered in place for minutes with their position lights on,” the report added.
The regional Schleswig-Holstein State police department confirmed on Monday that an investigation into the reported sightings has been launched. “We can confirm that the Schleswig-Holstein State Criminal Police Office is examining the incidents reported by the Bundeswehr and has taken over the investigation,” its spokeswoman told dpa news agency.
Unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were reportedly spotted near the base on at least six occasions last month alone. Air defense systems reportedly proved to be no match for the advanced aircraft as all the attempts to use jammers were in vain. No drone operators were located in any of the six cases, the newspaper wrote, adding that the military police and counterintelligence services (MAD) were engaged in the investigation.
“There is currently no information available that could justify the assumption” that the drone sightings are related to any criminal activities, a spokesman for a regional public prosecutor’s office told the news agency.
According to German state-funded broadcaster ARD, additional detectors and jamming systems have been deployed to the base, near the town of Husum close to the Danish border, home to the country’s “Air Defense Missile Training Center.”
Some media reports have claimed that the German military suspected the drones could have been sent from the ships in the North or Baltic Seas.
Germany has recently reported multiple drone sightings over various critical infrastructure facilities. In December, unidentified UAVs were spotted near the US Rammstein air base, which is used for meetings by Kiev’s Western backers and a plant of the chemical company BASF. Last August, drones were seen near some infrastructure facilities in the northern German town of Brunsbuttel.
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