The federal government wants to significantly expand drone defense. Among other things, mobile defense units, a so-called “cyberdome” and more extensive powers for private companies are planned.

A few days ago, the Federal Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, presented onenew security planto defend against drones. The failed drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport now serves as an opportunity for the politician to announce measures that were already on the political agenda.

The focus of the measures are new ideas for defending against drone attacks, which are intended to integrate not only the state, but also private companies into the hybrid military apparatus. Part of the security plan also includes quickly deployable units that are intended to protect the airspace from drones in the most strategically important cities, as well as the construction of a “cyberdome”.

The powers of private companies are to be massively expanded

Currently, private companies in Germany are only allowed to passively detect and document unauthorized drone flights, while active defensive measures are reserved for the authorities. Active interventions such as jamming (jamming), spoofing or shooting are prohibited for companies. Spoofing refers to the targeted sending of fake radio or GPS signals in order to manipulate the controls of an unmanned drone or take control of the aircraft.

Part of the security plan is to massively expand the previously very limited powers. Critical infrastructure companies such as waterworks, electricity providers and defense companies should also be able to actively defend against drones in the future. This not only gives these companies major new powers, but also significantly integrates non-state actors into the German state's military apparatus.

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Quickly deployable units in nine cities

But the state's drone defense should also be expanded. To this end, quickly deployable units are planned in strategically important cities to protect the airspace over critical hubs, airports and train stations from drones. The government district in Berlin should also be completely secured. These units should not only be able to intercept drones, but also be able to defuse drone bombs and explosive devices.

These strategically important cities include Frankfurt am Main, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Hanover and Cologne.

“Cyberdome”

In addition to defending against drones, protection against cyber attacks on authorities and companies is also part of the plan. A dense network of digital sensors is to be created to detect and intercept attempted attacks by hackers – a so-called “cyberdome”.

It is not just the name of the program that is based on the Israeli missile defense system “Iron Dome”. On the contrary, Interior Minister Dobrindt already had one in JanuarySecurity pactwith Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was supposed to advance this very project. So it's not just about defending against hacker attacks in Germany, for example, the authorities in both countries should also work more closely together in the areas of cyber and drone defense, as well as artificial intelligence.

In return, Germany is getting deeper into police work in the occupied Palestinian West Bank. According to Dobrindt, they want to “take the lead” in the security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority set up by the USA.

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Continuous internal upgrade

It turns out that the new security plan goes well beyond simply reacting to the current threat situation. Rather, the German state is using the attacks as an opportunity to push through long-planned rearmament projects. A similar pattern of action can be seen again and again, even after the sabotage of the Berlin power grid in January, the Interior Minister had a big onePush for internal rearmamentmade.

Above all, the now planned involvement of private companies in active drone defense shows that the internal armament is not only limited to state institutions. At the same time, the federal government is relying on a comprehensive expansion of technical and military defense structures to ward off “hybrid threats”. Overall, the federal government is pushing ahead with its plansurveillanceand internal upgrading continues to progress.

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