Third drone and explosives found near Leipzig airport

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed on Tuesday that perpetrators of hybrid attacks against Germany will face consequences, following the discovery of a third drone and suspected explosives linked to an attempted attack at Leipzig-Halle airport earlier this month. Speaking at the start of a two-day cabinet retreat, Merz stated that the government is imposing a cost on those responsible, though he did not name a specific target.

The incident, which occurred overnight into August 5, involved an explosives-laden drone found on the tarmac near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft. Police deployed a bomb disposal robot to defuse the device. A second drone is suspected to have collided with a DHL cargo plane shortly after the airport was temporarily shut down, causing minor damage. According to reports from public broadcasters NDR and WDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, a third drone was discovered on August 14 in a field west of the airport, along with approximately 50 grams of a substance suspected to be hexogen, a military explosive also known as RDX.

Investigators also found a device in the nearby area of Kursdorf that may have been used to control a drone, with an antenna...