Germany opens new drone research centre as security threats mount

Germany on Tuesday opened a new drone defence research centre, less than two weeks after an explosives-laden unmanned aerial vehicle was found at Leipzig airport, a key logistics hub for weapons sent to Ukraine.

"We are significantly strengthening our ability to respond to hostile drones," German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said at the centre's opening.

The centre "will constitute a central element of the security architecture in the face of the hybrid threat posed by drones," he added at the site on a former commercial airport about 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Berlin.

Berlin uses the term hybrid warfare to refer to hostile actions short of unambiguous military attacks, including espionage, arson and sabotage, by or on behalf of foreign powers.

Last year nearly 1,000 suspicious drones flew over critical infrastructure in Germany, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office.

Speaking at a press conference, Dobrindt warned that the explosive found at Leipzig earlier this month was no "isolated case".

"Leipzig is part of a wider picture," he said. "The threat situation has become more acute."

Berlin has so far refused to speculate on the motives or identity of those responsible for the incident at Leipzig.

Flights to the airport were diverted for several hours as police deployed a bomb-disposal robot to remove the explosives' detonator.

The airport in eastern Germany plays a key role in the transport of military goods by the German armed forces and NATO allies. It also serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines.