The military facility in Mechernich, Germany, raised an alarm on Thursday evening after its control center detected two drones moving above the site. Police were immediately notified and launched an on-site investigation, a spokesperson for the Bundeswehr operational command confirmed to Agence France-Presse.
The base in western Germany houses a massive underground warehouse that extends 130 meters deep and covers about 30,000 square meters, an area equal to four football fields. The site stores military equipment, spare parts, and critical components of the American Patriot air defense system, which is used to intercept missiles and aircraft.
While the military command declined to give further details, German media outlets Süddeutsche Zeitung and WDR reported that personnel from a private security company recorded six total overflights between Thursday evening and Friday morning.
Related drone incidents across Germany
The activity in Mechernich is not an isolated incident in recent days. Two days earlier, another unmanned aircraft carrying explosives was detected at Leipzig airport, a hub for military cargo transport in eastern Germany.
According to Bild newspaper, a driver working at the site saw the drone flying low near Ukrainian cargo planes and managed to ground it until bomb disposal experts arrived. Shortly after, a second unknown object allegedly struck a DHL commercial aircraft during a diversion maneuver around the airport.
Concern in Berlin is clear. On Wednesday, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned of a new dimension of threat and described a possible hybrid attack scenario without naming specific culprits. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convened the national security council on Friday to evaluate the situation.
