Two Bulgarian suspects arrested after arson attack on Rohde & Schwarz site in Munich

Incendiary devices thrown at Munich defense firm

Around midnight on 3 September 2026, witnesses alerted police after incendiary devices were thrown from a moving passenger car at a construction site in eastern Munich. The site, situated directly outside the corporate headquarters of technology and defense contractor Rohde & Schwarz near Munich Ostbahnhof, was designated for a new office complex. One of the thrown devices ignited a fire among construction containers on the property, which responding police officers extinguished before extensive destruction could occur. Specialist police units were called to the scene to defuse a second incendiary device that failed to detonate. Following an immediate manhunt in the surrounding area, police officers arrested two suspects at a nearby petrol station. The two individuals in custody are a 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, both holding Bulgarian citizenship.

Investigation points to political motive and foreign intelligence

The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) took charge of the investigation on Thursday morning due to indications of a political motive behind the attack. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann stated in Nuremberg that the targeted property belonged directly to the security and defense sector.

Overall, this event shows that, as in other places in Germany in recent days, we now face an increased risk of attacks on our own infrastructure, and quite obviously also in connection with defense companies in our country.

Bavarian Economy Minister Hubert Aiwanger commended the Bavarian police for the rapid arrest while pointing out the growing threat to sensitive industrial facilities.

We must face the reality that cowardly attacks on German companies and infrastructure are increasing.

ARD terrorism expert Michael Götschenberg reported strong indications that the suspects operated as disposable agents hired on behalf of a Russian intelligence service. Götschenberg noted that investigators have preserved a clear set of evidence following the arrests, describing a qualitative and quantitative escalation in sabotage activities linked to foreign intelligence networks.

Strategic role of Rohde & Schwarz and security backdrop

Rohde & Schwarz develops secure wireless communications, electronic intelligence, electronic warfare systems, and anti-drone technology. The company holds a key position in the German Bundeswehr's military modernization, supplying digital command radios designed to provide tap-proof voice and data transmissions across land forces. The midnight attack follows a pattern of heightened security alerts surrounding German defense infrastructure.

The enterprise previously faced an attack on 21 May 2021, when unknown perpetrators set fire to high-voltage power cables in an excavation pit, cutting electricity to more than 20,000 households. A letter claiming responsibility appeared on a left-wing extremist platform shortly afterward, though that investigation remained unresolved. In August 2025, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) warned of an increasing number of politically motivated offenses directed at defense contractors, their suppliers, and business partners, citing the publication of corporate addresses, supply routes, and executive names online. German authorities have also tracked recent attempted attacks on electrical substations in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia.