Europe takes on ‘hybrid war’ as Germany allows police to shoot down drones

It’s time to take on Russia’s “hybrid warfare” by openly acknowledging the threat and deterring future provocation, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday. 

The president of the European Commission highlighted that in just the last two weeks, Russian drones and warplanes have violated the airspace of six European nations, scrambling jets, grounding commercial flights and posing a direct threat to EU citizens.

“One incident may be a mistake. Two incidents a coincidence,” von der Leyen said while speaking to the EU’s parliament. “But three, five, 10 – this is a deliberate and targeted gray zone campaign against Europe, and Europe must respond.”

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The EU chief said these aerial threats are just the latest in a string of kinetic and non-kinetic Russian attacks that have targeted undersea cables, airports, logistics hubs and elections across the continent using direct force as well as cyber-based aggression.

“These incidents are calculated to linger in the twilight of deniability,” von der Leyen said. “This is not random harassment. It is a coherent and escalating campaign to unsettle our citizens, test our resolve, divide our union and weaken our support for Ukraine, and it is time to call it by its name. 

“This is hybrid warfare, and we have to take it very serious,” she said.

Von der Leyen said much has already been set in motion to better take on Russia’s growing aggression, including the mobilization of nearly $930 billion in defense expenditures through 2030 – which she said is the largest “surge of defense spending in the history of the Union.”

But the EU chief said more needs to be done, including promoting a “new mindset” when it comes to EU security among the public.

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“Tackling Russia’s hybrid war is not only about traditional defense, it is about software for drones. It is about spare parts for pipelines. It is about rapid cyber response teams, and it is about public information campaigns to spread awareness,” she said. “We must be ready to leave our comfort zone.”

Nations like Germany are already taking new action to counter Russia’s gray zone tactics, and on Wednesday German lawmakers paved the way for local police forces to be granted permission to shoot down drones. 

The plan, championed by German Chancellor Frederick Merz on Wednesday, still needs to be approved by the nation’s parliament, but comes less than a week after planes were grounded at the Munich airport over nearby drone sightings. 

“Drone incidents threaten our security,” Merz said in a post on X. “We will not permit that. We are strengthening the Federal Police’s powers so that drones can be detected and countered more quickly in the future.”

Local reporting earlier this week also noted that laser systems have been installed to better locate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) sightings after several incidents involving drones disrupted airports across Europe in recent months.