Lower Saxony upgrades: Seven million for drone defense 2026

Lower Saxony upgrades: Seven million for drone defense 2026

In Lower Saxony, the situation around drone survival opens up. More and more unauthorized drone flights about military facilities and critical infrastructures such as energy supply or traffic networks are troubled by the authorities. In the first half of 2025, more drone incidents were registered than throughout 2024 when the police in Lower Saxony had a total of 131 incidents. Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) has prompted this to initiate measures to defend drone. She is planning to invest seven million euros in the protection against spy drohns in the coming year to improve the technical skills of the police in this area, such as [ndr.de] (https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/niedersachsen/strategie- against-spionaGEn-niedersachsen-will-will-aufruesten-dronewehr-100.html).

The need for a well -equipped defense system becomes undisputed, because the Lower Saxony police have so far not has the means to effectively act against the spy roar. In addition to the technical challenges, there are also ambiguities about the responsibilities, especially if drones are spotted near military facilities. This leads to an association of the North German Interior Minister to advise against drone and cyber attacks.

hybrid threats and their challenges

An essential aspect behind these drone flights are hybrid threats that combine conventional and digital forms of attack. The aim of these threats is the destabilization of democratic systems and the influence of public opinion. Due to its digital networking, Lower Saxony is particularly susceptible to such attacks. The combination of various methods such as cyber attacks, disinformation and sabotage is a serious danger that often remains below the threshold of an open conflict, as on the website of Lower Saxony niedersachsen.de is explained.

In order to meet these challenges, the state government has taken various protective measures. This includes not only the technical upgrade to defend drones, but also the establishment of a "Single Point of Contact" (SpOC) to improve communication between the authorities. In order to sensitize the citizens, educational campaigns and programs to improve cyber security are planned in everyday life.

joint action is required

Another goal of the Interior Ministers' Conference, which will take place on Friday, is the joint purchase of defense technologies to save costs and increase efficiency. The Bundeswehr is also included in the talks. The CDU has already brought into play a draft draft for drone defense, while the current Green governments critically question the procedure.

The initiative is also promising to create a common position image for the hybrid threat situation, which not only looks at drone attacks, but also cybercrime. The first approaches to this were decided at the Interior Ministers' Conference in June, which clearly shows how important the cooperation between different authorities is. The question of how to deal with spy drohns remains significant, especially with regard to the security of the critical infrastructure, which, according to a report by the cyberintelligence. Institute, has come into focus.

The sophisticated strategy to combat these threats could help Lower Saxony to be better prepared against the potential dangers of hybrid warfare. Especially in times when drones are used as a means of choice for espionage and surveillance, it is crucial to act quickly and efficiently in order to ensure the security of the citizens and the infrastructure. In this request, the political actors, security authorities and civil society agree.