The threat situation in the skies over Germany is increasing. The Federal Criminal Police Office reported more than 1,000 suspicious drone flights over military installations and critical infrastructures for the past year alone. Airports such as Berlin-Brandenburg (BER), Munich, Bremen, and Frankfurt were also repeatedly targeted. It was only at the end of October 2025 that BER Airport suspended operations for two hours.
The German government has now introduced a law that allows special forces to shoot down drones in particularly serious cases. And it has set up a special unit for drone defense in the Federal Police. Around 130 officers are to protect airports and critical infrastructure. The German government is providing approximately 100 million euros for equipment for this purpose.
The motivation for such drone flights? It can be espionage or simply uncertainty, as with drones at airports.
Who is allowed to do what? In Germany, this is clearly defined, and the new special unit does not change these rules. The police are generally responsible for dealing with spy drones, since this falls under hazard prevention—typically handled by the state police. However, if a drone appears over an airport, the Federal Police take over, as airport areas extend 1.5 kilometers from the facility. If the drone is flying over military installations, the Bundeswehr is in charge. The Bundeswehr is also responsible for all armed drones, regardless of where they are located.
Discernment is therefore crucial. Is it a combat drone or not? And where is the drone operating? These factors determine who is responsible for taking action against it, and how that action will be carried out.
There are remote-controlled drones and autonomous drones. In the case of remote-controlled drones, a human steers the aircraft via radio signal. If this radio signal is interrupted, the drone returns to the starting point or lands as quickly as possible. A so-called jammer, for example, disrupts the radio connection and ends the flight.
In autonomous drones, the device finds its own way using satellite navigation, cameras, radar, and terrain data. If satellite navigation is a mandatory part of the system, a so-called spoofer can fend off the drone. It changes the signals of the navigation satellites in a small area around the drone. This can distract them from the original goal.
Spotting a small drone is not so easy. It can be heard from about 150 meters and can be seen from 500 meters. The radio signal reaches the furthest. This allows a drone to be detected several kilometers away. And radar technology also detects drones a few kilometers away.
We have developed our drone detection system specifically to protect critical infrastructure, cities and public events. The police have already successfully used it for security during UEFA Euro 2024.
Andrea Simpkins, executive consultant for drone protection, T-Systems on site services GmbH
T-Systems is also relying on the radio signal with its Drohne@onsite offer. Sensors record the radio signal from the drone pilot and the drone. Six sensors cover many square kilometers. Using multilateration and Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), the system calculates the position of the drone pilot. Or more precisely, we can determine the trajectory and speed through the time differences of the drone's radio signal in the synchronized network of sensors. The solution stores the data either on local servers or in security-certified clouds that we operate in Germany. Drohne@onsite can pass on information to building management systems and control center systems. In addition, the solution is compliant with all applicable laws and allows for a monitoring area that can be expanded as required.
We have developed our drone detection system specifically to protect critical infrastructure, cities, and public events. The police have already successfully used it for security during the UEFA Euro 2024. Our radio frequency sensors detected countless drones in the no-fly zone during the European Championship and located their pilots. The police were able to arrest the pilots within eight minutes on an average. However, none of the drone flights had a terrorist background.
And T-Systems has also searched for drones over Vienna on behalf of operators of critical infrastructures. Eight sensors monitored an area of 583 square kilometers for three months. We located 1,332 drones that posed a potential threat to the facilities of our project partners and third parties. Most of these were commercial drones from the market leader DJI. But we also registered almost 200 self-built drones. And many of these flights took place in flight restriction areas. The Austrian companies present the results of the surveillance project to various authorities – such as the Chancellor's Office and the Ministry of the Interior. The aim is to anchor the topic of "drone protection" in the RKE Act (Regulation on Critical Infrastructure).
With the experience gained from these projects, T-Systems is further developing the map display. In the future, further sources are to be included in order to further improve risk assessment and resource planning. The so-called Drone Hazard Index, or DGI for short, is intended to link various risk profiles with flight restriction areas, weather forecasts, and planned events, among other things.
