The Bavarian State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) is investigating several incidents involving drones spotted over Bundeswehr facilities in Manching and Neuburg an der Donau.
According to Augsburger Allgemeine, on Sunday around 7:00 PM, the Northern Police Directorate of Upper Bavaria’s operations center received a report of drones flying in the military security zone in Manching. Police officers arriving at the scene documented up to ten drones. Despite extensive search efforts, including the deployment of a police helicopter, the identities of the operators could not be determined.
Drone-related incidents also occurred in previous weeks. On December 16, at around 7:15 PM, eyewitnesses spotted several drones over the airfield in Manching. Attempts to locate the pilot were unsuccessful. Later that evening, around 9:45 PM, another drone flight was reported, but again, authorities were unable to identify the operator.
On December 18, at approximately 6:30 PM, three drones were seen in the Manching military security zone. The following day, around 6:30 AM, drones were reported flying over the military security zone in Neuburg. In both cases, searches yielded no results. On Christmas Day, December 25, at around 2:00 AM, another drone was observed in the Manching military security zone, an area designated as a no-fly zone.
Earlier reports indicated that unidentified drones were spotted over the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the end of 2024 but were neither intercepted nor shot down. Last year, similar drone incidents occurred over U.S. and U.K. airbases.
