Bundeswehr regularly spots drones over its military training grounds, suspects Russia — Bild
Suspicious unidentified drones have been regularly spotted over German military training grounds for more than a year, particularly where Ukrainian soldiers are being trained, German newspaper Bild reported on Jan. 7.
The problem was acknowledged by State Secretary of the German Defense Minister Nils Hilmer, who said in a speech to members of the Bundestag, the German parliament, that "so far we have not been able to arrest (intercept) any drones or their pilots."
Suspicious drones are spotted every week, and the army has long been aware of the problem. General Carsten Breuer, who was in charge of the Territorial Command at the time, reported the appearance of the drones in October 2022.
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In a quick action, Breuer had the military police trained in the use of the HP 47 jamming transmitter, which can force drones to land. However, its effectiveness has not been sufficiently researched.
Shortly thereafter, Breuer was promoted to Inspector General. Nothing more happened in terms of drone defense. But the little spy devices continued to fly.
The problem is particularly concerning in areas where the German military trains Ukrainian soldiers.
“Drones are regularly spotted over the Klietz military training area, where the Bundeswehr (German army) trains Ukrainians on the Leo 1 (Lopard 1 tank),” Marcus Faber, a member of the Bundestag's defense committee from the Free Democratic Party (FDP), told Bild.
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“At other locations, several drones sometimes enter the airspace at the same time. This is clearly organized and strongly points to Russia. So many drones have been spotted that it would be dangerous if even a small percentage of them were involved in spy flights.”
The Bundeswehr also suspects Moscow is behind the drone flights, but cannot prove it because it has not shot down or landed a single drone in more than a year.
On Nov. 15, 2023, the Bundeswehr finally established the Drone Task Force under the command of Army Brigadier General Wolfgang Jordan. However, according to Bild, no tangible results seem to have been achieved in the past two months.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
