The German armed forces (Bundeswehr) cannot simply shoot down drones in the country’s domestic airspace — and this is largely due to protective measures designed to avoid a repeat of the country’s “Nazi past.” To change this, the laws and constitution need to be changed.

This  was stated by the head of the defense committee of the German Bundestag, Thomas Rövekamp, ​​to Politico,  Censor.NET reports .

The current German constitution , adopted after World War II, explicitly prohibits the Bundeswehr from playing a key role in ensuring the country’s internal security.

The army is allowed to shoot down drones only over military bases, and also to provide “administrative assistance”: helping to identify drones or transmitting information upon request.

“We need to amend the laws so that the only one who can do this, namely the Bundeswehr, is also given the authority to do so,” he said.

The German police have the legal right to shoot down unidentified drones across the country if necessary, but they do not have the technical capabilities to do so. The military has more technical capabilities.

“The Federal Police, like almost all state police departments, currently have no capabilities to protect against drones,” explained Rövekamp.

Katrin Groch, a professor of public law at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, noted that in Nazi Germany the army was used “frequently and ruthlessly.”

The 1949 constitution wanted to avoid a repeat of something like this, and against this backdrop, “such strict rules” now apply to the Bundeswehr, she added.

However, in late September, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced his intention to create a unit within the police to combat drones and to establish a separate national center for this purpose. This, he said, would allow the police, intelligence and military to pool resources.

“The world has changed, and nowhere else is there a distinction between internal and external security. Looking to the future, we must adapt the provisions of our constitution to reality,” added Roevekamp.

Author:  Valeria Sushkova Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/n3578980

(c)CENSOR.NET 2025