Police will be allowed to shoot down drones in Germany. The Cabinet of Ministers approved a new law

Germany will allow police to shoot down drones if they violate the country's airspace. The new law was already approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on October 8, now it's up to the parliament, reports Reuters.

It is noted that the police will be given the authority to shoot down drones on water or land, including in cases of acute threat or serious harm. Other countermeasures include the use of lasers or signal jamming to interrupt control and navigation channels.

"The police may use appropriate technical means against the system, its control unit or its control channel if the prevention of danger by other measures proves futile or significantly hampered," the new law says.

The law was adopted after dozens of flights were diverted or canceled at Munich Airport, Germany's second largest, on October 3 due to the detection of unknown drones. According to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Russia is behind most of the drones . The UAVs without explosives were most likely conducting reconnaissance flights.

Once this law is passed, Germany will join a number of European countries that have already authorized their security forces to shoot down drones. These include the United Kingdom, France, Lithuania, and Romania .

According to the German Air Traffic Control Service (DFS), 172 violations of airspace by drones were recorded in the country between January and the end of September 2025. This is more than in the same period last year – 129 cases, and 121 cases in 2023.

• In the evening of October 2, German air traffic control restricted flights at Munich airport from 22:18. More than 20 flights were canceled due to unidentified drones.
• On the night of October 4, Munich Airport suspended operations again due to the arrival of drones. As a precautionary measure, flight restrictions were imposed.
• According to Bild, the drones over Munich airport turned out to be military reconnaissance.
• On October 5, the head of the German Defense Ministry said that drones over Germany have not yet posed a specific threat.