The best general in Germany wishes to quickly deploy new weapons systems in the German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, to counter drones.
“One thing is clear for me: in the end, it will probably come back to have to use drones against drones,” General Carsten Breuer, Inspector General of the Bundeswehr told DPA.
Given the volume of drones that Russia uses against Ukraine, an effective defense is “only possible thanks to a mixture of different capacities,” he said.
Breuer expects progress in a few months. He underlined the chronology to introduce ammunition so -called strolling into the Bundeswehr. These are suicide bomber drones equipped with warheads that can be directed against large number targets or even seek them independently with the support of artificial intelligence. They “drag” around a target until it is located and then crushed there.
“We made a decision on the munitions of vagueness in March, and at the end of the year, the troops will dismiss them for the first time,” he said.
“The drone battle against drone is continued with the same urgency as the introduction of blur ammunition.”
Several airspace violations in a few days
However, Breuer warned that it would be a “mistake” to lose sight of other threats. “We must not say now that we are only focusing on drones. As central as the development of drones is for our defense capacity, we are still faced with threats of cruise, rockets and planes.”
Among NATO allies, an increase in violations of Russia airspace in the past two weeks has caused concern. Last week, a large number of drones entered the Polish airspace, and therefore the NATO territory, encouraging the Polish and allied forces to shoot down several Russian drones on their territory for the first time.
Friday, Estonia reported that three Russian fighter planes had violated its airspace.
NATO had already launched an operation called Eastern Sentry to strengthen the eastern flank with air defense and recognition after the violation of Polish airspace.
Russia “tested us as an alliance”
Breuer described the foray into Polish airspace as an unprecedented violation.
“Whatever intentional or accidental, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will observe our reaction closely. With this airspace violation, he tested us as an alliance, “said the general.
He expressed the confidence that the Alliance had passed this test with the unit and a quick response. However, the fact that NATO fighter planes had to draw high -value guided missiles from relatively inexpensive disposable drones have aroused public doubts and criticism of the alliance’s level of preparation.
Breuer called on risks to people and potential material damage to consider when deploying weapons. Nevertheless, he asked the question: “How can we achieve a much better cost-effectiveness? We are no longer at the start to answer this question. For example, we already procure ourselves Skyranger air defense systems, whose ammunition cost a fraction of an air defense missile.”
The Skyranger is a mobile air defense system on the ground developed by the German company Rheinmetall.
Standby contracts for drones
In the case of new drones, the availability in large quantities is also crucial in an emergency. However, the development cycles are very short, much shorter than for shells or missiles.
For military planners, it is therefore not very useful for storing large quantities of a weapon that could lose its effectiveness in the years or even months.
“I can imagine a watch contract for the availability of drones – ‘drone as a service.’ This means that we need a number for training purposes.
“But above all, we need industrial capacities for a large quantity when it becomes necessary.”
The German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt also focuses on the defense of improved drones for internal security. “We are going to place this problem in good place on the agenda at the next conference of interior ministers,” Bavaria’s conservative politician told Funke Media Group newspapers.
“Our objective is clear: to pool the powers between federal governments and states, to develop new defense capacities and integrate the defense of the police and military drones.”
“We are in a technological arms race between threats of drones and the defense of drones – in hybrid and military fields,” said Dobrindt.
