Government wants to allow Bundeswehr to shoot down drones

The Bundeswehr will in future also be allowed to combat drones outside its own properties. The Federal Cabinet in Berlin on Wednesday initiated a long-awaited amendment to the Air Security Act. If the Bundestag also approves the plan, this will clear the way for the Bundeswehr to be deployed to defend against potentially dangerous drones domestically.

The government is thus reacting to the security situation. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) justifies the now proposed changes with "increased drone sightings" in recent months. "Not every drone sighting is a threat - but a threat can arise from every drone sighting," Dobrindt said in Berlin at noon.

Until now, drone defense was generally the responsibility of the respective state police authority or, in exceptional cases, the Federal Police. The Bundeswehr was only allowed to intervene in the event of an acute danger to its own properties and soldiers. In view of the potential threat situation, this regulation repeatedly proved to be unsuitable - not least due to long reaction times.

The amended Air Security Act will also simplify coordination between the police authorities of the federal and state governments and the Bundeswehr. Drones that pose a threat and cannot be defended against otherwise should be able to be shot down, Dobrindt emphasized.

Practical problems cannot be solved by law

However, the law now initiated by the cabinet does not change the fact that the Bundeswehr cannot be everywhere at once. The availability of the appropriate "means of destruction" is also limited: For example, air-to-air missiles guided by waste heat are not effective against a small, electrically powered quadrocopter; conversely, many of the defense systems for micro-drones, such as simple jammers, are $(LB4947042:largely unsuitable) against a military drone. Furthermore, even in the event of an assumed possible threat, a shoot-down may only take place after an assessment of the consequences.

It is controversial whether the amendment to the legal situation proposed by the federal government is sufficient. Since the Bundeswehr may only be deployed internally in very narrowly defined exceptional cases, the opposition, in addition to substantive criticism, also warns that the planned amendment could be unconstitutional. Such an expansion of the Bundeswehr's powers would only be permissible with a constitutional amendment, which in turn would require a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag. The black-red federal government is far from having such a majority.

(wpl)