German federal police specialists defused the detonator of an explosive-laden drone discovered near a Ukrainian Antonov AN-124 transport aircraft at Leipzig/Halle airport, after flight operations were temporarily suspended by the security breach.
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as a "hybrid attack scenario" representing a "new quality of danger", while aviation expert Hartmut Fricke of TU Dresden warned of a new threat dimension for critical infrastructure. The fallout extended beyond Germany: a DHL cargo plane collided with a drone near the airport and made an emergency landing in Hanover.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the country would strengthen airport protection, with Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar citing draft legislation on anti-drone safeguards for critical infrastructure. Austria, which has been developing a national drone defence strategy since October 2025, faced Green party demands for clearer responsibilities for counter-drone operations as Interior Minister Gerhard Karner could not specify the scale of unauthorised drone flights in the country.