At around 11:40 p.m. last Tuesday, an unidentified flying object was detected in the secure area of Leipzig/Halle Airport near the southern runway. Disaster may have been prevented by the quick intervention of a bus driver.
According to several media reports, the man was driving across the apron near the southern runway when he noticed the device flying at low altitude. Security sources say he got out and kicked the drone to the ground.
What he apparently did not know was that professional-grade explosives and a detonator had been attached to the aircraft.
The drone was close to at least one Ukrainian Antonov AN-124. Aircraft of this type are operated by Antonov Airlines for strategic heavy-lift transport, among other purposes. Under the NATO-managed Strategic Airlift International Solution (SALIS) program, AN-124 aircraft are available for national, NATO and EU missions.
It remains unclear whether one or more Antonov aircraft were in fact the target of the suspected attack.
Explosives and a Second Drone
Flight operations were completely suspended after the drone was discovered, and several aircraft were diverted. Federal Police specialists initially examined the device using a bomb-disposal robot before removing the detonator.
Citing confidential findings from the investigation, several media reports have identified the explosives as PETN, a powerful substance used in military explosives and detonating cord, and Semtex, a plastic explosive also used by the military.
A second flying object collided shortly afterward with a cargo aircraft that had been forced to abort its landing after the airport was closed. The aircraft was found to have sustained minor damage after landing in Hanover.
Federal prosecutors consider it possible that this object was also a drone. It is not known whether any wreckage was recovered.
It is the second time Leipzig Airport has narrowly escaped a potentially catastrophic incident. In 2024, an incendiary device went off at a logistics center at the airport, setting a freight container on fire. Western security officials suspected at the time that the attack had been organized by Russian intelligence services.
Federal Prosecutors Take Over
On Thursday evening, the case was referred to the federal authorities given its significance. The investigation is now being conducted by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
According to federal prosecutors, there are indications that the drone was intended to cause an explosion. Investigators are examining suspected explosives offences and dangerous interference with air traffic. The authorities said the act was capable of endangering Germany's internal and external security.
Saxony Interior Minister Armin Schuster described the incident in an official statement as a “very serious security incident”. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, speaking after a security briefing, called it a “new dimension of threat” and a “hybrid attack scenario”.
Dobrindt said the technology and explosives pointed to highly professional perpetrators. He did not rule out the involvement of foreign powers, while warning against prematurely attributing responsibility to any particular actor.
Signs of Professional Planning
The location of the drone near a Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft initially led to conflicting reports. Early claims that the aircraft had been carrying ammunition were denied by Interior Minister Schuster.
There had been no ammunition on board when the drone was discovered. According to investigators, the aircraft had transported ammunition from France via Leipzig east the previous day and had subsequently returned empty.
What is clear is that this was a professionally planned attempt to attack a strategically important airport. It remains unknown whether the Ukrainian Antonov was actually the target or whether the drone happened to be nearby.
It is also unclear whether the two flying objects – the drone found on the ground and the suspected drone in the air – were connected, where they were launched from and how the airport's existing drone-detection systems were circumvented.
A Drone Built to Evade Detection
That final question may soon be answered if reports that the drone was fitted with 5G antennas are confirmed. Information from security sources suggests that this was not an ordinary off-the-shelf consumer drone.
Because a device of this kind does not rely on conventional radio remote control, it can more easily evade radio-based detection systems. It does not emit the characteristic signal produced by standard remote controls, which many detectors are designed to identify.
Its control system also cannot be blocked by conventional signal jammers. The operator does not need to be nearby and could even control the drone from abroad because commands are transmitted over the mobile internet.
If this information is confirmed, it would support the assessment of a drone expert who told ZDF that the incident represented a “worst-case scenario for detection”.
Suspicion Falls on Russia
Politicians and security experts consider a state-directed attack possible, with suspicion focused primarily on Russia. Leipzig/Halle Airport is a major civilian freight hub that is also used for Ukrainian military transports.
The authorities have so far presented no evidence of Russian responsibility in the current case or in connection with the 2024 explosion. No suspects have been publicly identified, no one has claimed responsibility, and the authorities have not formally attributed either incident to any state.
It is also unknown where the drone was prepared, who controlled it and whether accomplices on the ground were involved.