Explosive drone found near Ukrainian Antonov cargo planes at Leipzig/Halle Airport prompts German federal terror investigation

Discovery and shutdown

On the night of 4 August 2026, an airport employee at Leipzig/Halle spotted a flying object hovering close to the ground near the south runway, between two parked Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft operated by Ukraine's Antonov Airlines. The employee reportedly kicked the object to the ground. A Leipzig police spokesman, Olaf Hoppe, had earlier declined to confirm that what was sighted was a drone, saying only that a flying object had been seen and a separate object found in the area of the south runway. The airport suspended all flights, forcing 19 aircraft to divert, including freighters operated by DHL, Lufthansa Cargo and Amazon.

Explosive device

The federal prosecutor in Karlsruhe took over the case on 6 August, calling it a "serious attack on the transportation and logistics infrastructure in Germany" that posed a threat to external and internal security. The prosecutor said the drone was fitted with professional explosives and a detonator. According to dpa information, the explosive charge contained Semtex and PETN. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the detonator had failed, preventing an explosion near the Ukrainian cargo planes. He described the device as carrying a fist-sized package of what is believed to be the plastic explosive Semtex, and called the construction "highly professional work" requiring more than amateur knowledge.

We are dealing with a contest here that possibly involves foreign powers.

Mid-air collision

As the airport was closing, a DHL Boeing 757 aborted its landing approach and climbed away. At roughly 400 metres it collided with an unidentified object, then diverted to Hanover, about 200 kilometres to the northwest, where it landed safely with minor damage to the nose. A federal interior ministry spokesman confirmed the collision. Police began searching the airport grounds on 6 August for debris from the second object. Authorities have not established whether the collision is connected to the device found beside the south runway.

Conflicting reports on aircraft payload

A joint investigation by Sueddeutsche Zeitung, NDR and WDR, citing a confidential police report, said the Ukrainian Antonov aircraft was carrying a payload of military ammunition. Forensic experts found the explosives attached to the drone were of high military grade, the same report said. However, the German Interior Ministry denied this, with government officials telling Deutsche Welle that the aircraft were empty at the time of the incident.

Political reactions

Dobrindt interrupted a vacation in Italy to visit the airport on 5 August and told reporters the incident represented a "new threat quality" and a "hybrid threat scenario." He did not name a suspect. CDU lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, blamed Russia directly and called for NATO Article 4 consultations. FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the European Parliament's defense committee, said Russia had an interest in generating resistance within the German public, particularly ahead of state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in September. Greens parliamentary leader Katharina Dröge called the incident "state terrorism" if a state actor is confirmed. The incident recalls a 2024 case in which an incendiary device ignited at a DHL logistics center at the same airport; security circles suspect that package was placed on behalf of Russia. The Russian Embassy in Berlin did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.