Third Drone Found at Leipzig Airport
- A third drone was found on 14 August in a field bordering Leipzig Airport, and investigators identified a substance believed to be approximately 50 grams of military-grade hexogen
- A second drone is thought to have struck a DHL freighter that had aborted its landing, damaging the aircraft's tail section; no drone wreckage has been recovered, as it may have
- Security sources suspect Russian intelligence services planned the operation, which targeted a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft; Russia has denied all involvement and the
Investigators probing the drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport have discovered a third unmanned aircraft and a substance believed to be a military-grade explosive, raising the possibility that the planned attack was far more ambitious than initially understood.
A third drone and suspected hexogen
The first drone, laden with explosives, was found on the airport grounds in the early minutes of 4 August. What had not previously been made public is that a third drone was recovered on the evening of 14 August on a field in Kabelsketal — a locality in the Saalekreis district of Saxony-Anhalt that borders the western perimeter of the airport. Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) forensic teams and additional officers were deployed the same day. According to security sources, investigators returned to the site the following day and identified a substance that preliminary assessments suggest could be approximately 50 grams of hexogen, a highly explosive military-grade compound. If confirmed, that finding would indicate the perpetrators may have intended a substantially larger strike than the one that failed when the bomb's detonator apparently malfunctioned.
Collision with a DHL freighter
A second drone is believed to have struck a DHL cargo aircraft at around 00:03 on the night of the incident — roughly 21 minutes after the first device was found on the airfield at 23:42. The freighter had been forced to abort its landing at Leipzig after the airport was immediately closed, and was climbing away when the collision is thought to have occurred near the airport perimeter fence at several hundred kilometres per hour. The crew reportedly spotted an object approximately 30 centimetres in size moments before impact; subsequent radar analysis is said to have corroborated the presence of a small airborne object. The aircraft was diverted to Hanover, where investigators examined the fuselage and interviewed the crew. Damage found on the tail section was assessed as consistent with a collision; a bird strike was ruled out. The drone itself, or any substantial fragment of it, has not been recovered. Investigators believe it may have been drawn into an engine and destroyed.
Control equipment and a possible detonation site
In Kursdorf, to the north of the airport, investigators seized what appears to have been a makeshift control rig: an antenna and associated electronics fixed to a tree with adhesive tape. Not far from that location, they found scorched earth and metal fragments, which are being examined as a possible detonation site. Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang at around 19:20 on 4 August — several hours before the first drone was discovered at the airport. Whether the explosion was accidental, or whether the perpetrators deliberately destroyed evidence, remains under investigation. During a further search on 11 August, police found drone components including a motor and a rotor, despite initial reports from investigative circles suggesting that search had yielded nothing.
Russian intelligence suspected; Moscow denies involvement
The Federal Prosecutor's Office, acting under Attorney General Jens Rommel, is leading the investigation with BKA state protection specialists pursuing several lines of inquiry, including DNA evidence recovered at the scene. Security sources have said they believe Russian intelligence services were involved in planning the operation. Russia has publicly denied any responsibility. A spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor's Office declined to comment on Monday. The intended target, according to investigators, was a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft used to transport military equipment — a finding that points to the operation as part of the broader pattern of suspected Russian sabotage against logistics supporting Ukraine. The original interception at Leipzig Airport had already prompted serious concern in German security circles; the latest disclosures suggest the operation was more elaborate, and potentially more lethal, than the public account had reflected.
With DNA leads being pursued and the question of who coordinated the operation still unresolved, the investigation is at an early but significant stage. The scale of the apparent plot — multiple drones, suspected military explosive, a makeshift command post — raises acute questions about the reach and intent of whoever stood behind it.
