00:00Germany has a problem. Up to August alone, there were 144 drone incidents at German airports.
00:05That's more than in both 2024 and 2023 for the entire year.
00:10Chancellor Friedrich Merz blames Russia for the most recent cases.
00:14Drones are the perfect instrument for hybrid warfare, in a negative sense.
00:19They spy, disrupt, and unsettle the population, causing millions in damage.
00:23In the worst case scenario, it could even be used to launch truly dangerous attacks.
00:27Germany is currently in a pretty bad position when it comes to drone defense.
00:30That's why the government is working intensively on legislative changes.
00:34But now, legal experts have stated that the German drone defense system could become a subject for the Federal Constitutional Court.
00:39Why drone defense in Germany has worked so poorly so far and what good drone defense looks like
00:45That's what we're about now, and with that, welcome to Breaking Lab. Jakob here. Let's go.
00:52For several months now, there have been repeated incidents involving drones in Europe.
00:56In July, several Russian drones entered Lithuanian airspace.
01:00In September, at least 19 Russian drones flew over Poland, Denmark, and Norway.
01:05Several airports had to temporarily close because drones were sighted.
01:09Danish authorities see this as a coordinated attack by Russia.
01:12And there have been increasing incidents in Germany recently as well.
01:15Between January and March 2025 alone, more than 500 suspicious drone flights were reported in Germany.
01:21The number of military installations in Brandenburg was three times higher than a year ago.
01:27In Schleswig-Holstein, an entire swarm of drones is even said to have specifically spied on and measured critical infrastructure.
01:33These include a hospital, a power plant, and a military shipyard.
01:36Airports are particularly frequently affected.
01:39Most recently, Munich Airport has been making headlines.
01:42Due to drone sightings, 81 flights were diverted and some were even cancelled here at the beginning of October.
01:48Such incidents can quickly become quite expensive.
01:51The German Federal Association of Airlines says that even a one-hour interruption always means one million in damages.
01:57There are even scientific analyses for Frankfurt Airport.
02:01A six-hour closure due to drones causes costs of more than 2.6 million euros here.
02:07A 24-hour closure already costs 12.7 million euros, and a 48-hour closure even causes costs of over 37.5 million euros.
02:16Now the head of the Federal Association of German Airlines is demanding that drones be shot down.
02:22The federal government has since announced measures.
02:24She too sees the drone incidents as a serious threat to our security.
02:28But is shooting down drones really that easy?
02:31Well, like so many things in life, drone defense is quite complex, especially in Germany.
02:35There are political and legal hurdles, but everything also needs to run smoothly from a technical perspective.
02:40Therefore, effective drone defense always follows a clear chain of events, and this chain goes much further than simply shooting down drones.
02:47This chain can actually be divided very well into three steps.
02:50The first step is to identify the drone.
02:52This makes this step particularly critical, because if I don't detect the drone early enough, then the entire defense could fail.
02:57To prevent this from happening, drone defense systems use many different sensors, including radar systems, optical sensors such as high-resolution cameras, acoustic sensors, LiDAR and radio frequency analyzers.
03:10They receive and analyze radio signals from drone communication.
03:13The drone defense system then uses all this information in step 2 for identification and tracking.
03:19Images and AI help to classify what kind of drone it is and, above all, whether the drone is friend or foe.
03:25Special software programs are used to answer this question.
03:29They can fuse the sensor data, creating a real-time situational picture of the airspace.
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04:40But now back to the topic.
04:42In the third step, we now assess the situation center, i.e., how we deal with the drones.
04:48Often there is very little time for this, which is why defense systems again use AI in this area.
04:52This can then help in making decisions.
04:54Depending on our decision, we will now take various countermeasures.
04:58We really need to carefully consider which one is the right one.
05:01On the one hand, simple defense systems might not be sufficient against highly armed drones.
05:05On the other hand, it would be a gross overkill if we were to shoot at such a small camera drone with a tank like that.
05:10There are several ways to effectively defend against drones.
05:13This way, you can always react appropriately.
05:15Especially with smaller commercial drones, a so-called soft kill is usually sufficient.
05:20We achieve this through electronic defense systems, mostly using jamming or spoofing.
05:25Jamming disrupts the signal between the pilot and the drone.
05:28The German Armed Forces have their own jamming devices of the HP-47 model for this purpose.
05:32Perhaps you've actually seen them before, they're the ones you carry on your shoulder, like a cannon.
05:37And if we shoot down the drone electrically with it, it lands very gently or flies automatically back to the pilot.
05:43This also works with anti-drone rifles, which the German Armed Forces also have.
05:46These are modified G95 and G27 assault rifles.
05:50And a jamming transmitter is attached to them.
05:53With spoofing, on the other hand, we even take complete control of the drone.
05:56This is done by overlaying the GPS signal.
05:59To the drone, this superimposed signal appears as the real one from the remote control.
06:03And this type of defense has advantages and disadvantages.
06:06On the one hand, physical collateral damage is unlikely.
06:09On the other hand, this defense also causes electronic interference, for example in air traffic control radio communications.
06:14At the same time, electronic defenses are often ineffective against autonomous or hardened military drones.
06:20Then we need a so-called hard kill.
06:22We either physically intercept the drone or destroy it.
06:25The first measure usually taken here is the use of so-called interceptor drones.
06:29These are small, mostly AI-controlled interceptor drones.
06:32Today we primarily use two types: RAM drones and network drones.
06:36RAM drones, which attack RAM-hostile drones at speeds of up to 300 km/h, causing them to break and fall from the sky.
06:42Net drones, on the other hand, capture enemy drones with a net.
06:45The German Armed Forces' Cyber Innovation Hub is currently working intensively on these concepts.
06:49Tests are already underway with the first prototypes.
06:52The technology for this comes from various start-ups here in Germany.
06:55For example, from the Munich-based start-up Titan Technologies.
06:58They built a RAM drone for the German Armed Forces.
07:01And it should make drone defense significantly easier and cheaper.
07:05And the start-up is currently developing a comprehensive concept for the protection of military installations and critical infrastructure.
07:11This should be available by mid-2026.
07:14Furthermore, the German Armed Forces have recently started using the A1 Falke net launcher drone from Argus Interception, which is also a pretty impressive piece of equipment.
07:20The concept was developed by the Bundeswehr University in Hamburg and is currently being tested.
07:26Only when all electrical and kinetic defense systems are unsuitable will we actually shoot down the drone.
07:31Shooting down drones is truly the last resort in an effective drone defense system.
07:35We then do that with guided missiles or high-energy lasers.
07:38The German Armed Forces are actually just waiting for a suitable weapon.
07:42Until a few years ago, the drones would probably have been shot down with the Gepard armored vehicle.
07:46However, it was decommissioned and parts of it were delivered to Ukraine.
07:49It will be replaced by the Skyranger 30 from Rheinmetall.
07:53The German Armed Forces have ordered 19 of them for 650 million euros.
07:57One prototype is already available, and the remaining 18 are expected to arrive by 2028.
08:02And in the long term, the number is expected to reach 49.
08:05I've actually already covered the question of when such a high-energy laser will be available in a video.
08:09However, the future of a very interesting system, because it is very inexpensive to use, is not yet foreseeable.
08:14In 2022, the German Armed Forces had actually already tested such a laser against drones.
08:18This weapon is not yet in regular use.
08:21However, the question of when and whether a drone will be shot down is something that needs to be carefully considered.
08:26And this is where it gets more complicated.
08:27Debris could easily fall during the launch, causing collateral damage.
08:32And the launch itself is quite expensive, because a single anti-aircraft missile,
08:36This can quickly cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros.
08:40In contrast, an enemy kamikaze drone like the Shahhead 136 only costs around 20,000 to 50,000 euros.
08:46And that naturally creates a considerable imbalance.
08:50And that is quite a big problem.
08:51The hurdles become even greater, but on a legal level and in terms of responsibilities.
08:55And now it gets a little absurd again.
08:57Experts already suspect that drone defense could become a case for the Federal Constitutional Court.
09:03We'll explain why all this is so complicated in the big "but".
09:06Before we continue, please subscribe so you don't miss any more videos and to support this channel.
09:11Now we come to the big "but" and the legal jungle of competences,
09:15which is why Germany is so far behind in drone defense.
09:18The German Armed Forces are already doing a lot and are upgrading their equipment.
09:21The thing is, the Bundeswehr (German Federal Armed Forces) is not primarily responsible for internal security; that's the responsibility of the police.
09:27However, it is absolutely not adequately equipped for drone defense.
09:30The police have neither fighter jets nor other air defense systems.
09:34Gemma does have the police, but they only help against simple remote-controlled drones.
09:38But for military drones, these are usually insufficient.
09:41And, simply put, the police here lack the resources for effective drone defense.
09:45Furthermore, there is currently a massive problem of jurisdiction within the police force.
09:48That actually has to do with their structure.
09:50There are the federal and state police forces, and below them the individual criminal investigation offices and regional police headquarters.
09:57Such a drone would first have to be reported and detected.
10:00Then the police would also have to clarify internally who is actually responsible.
10:04The problem is, it takes a really long time, and by then the drone is usually gone again.
10:08Furthermore, the Federal Police Act was already 30 years old before the reform in October.
10:15It dated back to the 90s and simply didn't know anything about drones.
10:18As a result, almost all state police forces have lacked clear regulations for drone defense.
10:24On October 8th, the Federal Government therefore passed a new Federal Police Act.
10:28This means the Federal Police are now allowed to shoot down drones.
10:30But one has to ask, of course, is that even possible with military drones?
10:35And if the police can't manage it, couldn't the German Armed Forces simply step in?
10:39Yes, our constitution stands in the way here.
10:42It clearly states when the German Armed Forces are allowed to intervene domestically and when they are not.
10:46And the German Armed Forces are explicitly not responsible for policing within Germany.
10:51The Basic Law does contain exceptions, but there are major hurdles to overcome.
10:55It would take a particularly serious accident, something like a natural disaster or something similar.
11:00A simple drone flyover is obviously not enough.
11:03And for that to happen, one would have to be able to clearly assign the drone to a foreign state.
11:08In practice, however, this is almost never possible.
11:11Even if all the prerequisites for a Bundeswehr deployment are met, there are still hurdles.
11:15Currently, the German Armed Forces' Air Security Act prohibits the use of weapons against drones.
11:20Whether the German Armed Forces are allowed to shoot down drones is indeed extremely questionable.
11:23Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt therefore wants to change the law now, involve the Bundeswehr more closely through administrative assistance and allow shootings.
11:29But legal experts are already warning that Dobrindt's plans could result in a constitutional challenge.
11:35The Basic Law only permits the deployment of the Bundeswehr within Germany in very rare exceptional cases.
11:40Absolutely, with a certain background and a certain purpose.
11:43In the long term, Germany will probably really have to start thinking about a constitutional amendment now.
11:49Otherwise, drone defense could become difficult.
11:51But what this topic illustrates quite well from my point of view is that, from a purely technological standpoint, we in Germany are actually on a pretty good path.
11:58Several research projects on drone defense are currently underway here.
12:01For example, the Custodian Project from the German Aerospace Center or, at the EU level, the European Sky Shield Initiative.
12:08And two weeks ago I spoke on the phone with someone from Quantum, a drone startup near Munich.
12:13And they are also working on it theoretically and even invited us to come by.
12:18If you would like me to take a closer look at these projects, please feel free to write that in the comments.
12:23Then I'll do it, just like I did this video, at your request.
12:26Well, a really big issue is the bureaucracy and the legal questions.
12:32And now it's up to politicians to act.
12:34Here too, the groundwork must be laid so that we can effectively defend ourselves and our infrastructure against drones.
12:41Personally, I believe that this change in the law is extremely important.
12:44Because the uncertainty caused by drones is probably the greatest damage we as a society, as a democracy, can have here.
12:51And in doing so, we also demonstrate how vulnerable we are.
12:54So I really hope that things will pick up a bit now and something will change.
12:58Because somehow it's all absurd, what the current problem is.
13:02That's my personal opinion.
13:04I'm curious to hear what you have to say about this.
13:06And here are two more videos for you.
13:07One example is actually the most valuable startup in Germany, which is also a tech defense startup.
13:13And now, let's talk about laser weapons.
13:16Other countries are already a bit further ahead in this regard.
13:17Among others, for example, Great Britain, which actually has a laser weapon specifically designed to counter drones and missiles.
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