Photo: Collected

BERLIN, Nov 5, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Authorities across northern Germany will launch a joint drone-defence effort after a series of incidents Berlin blames in part on Russia, Hamburg city announced Wednesday.

Germany's leaders have made drone defences a priority after drone flights at sensitive sites such as airports and military bases.

The federal government has authorised police to shoot down such drones or disable them electronically.

Interior ministers of the northern German coastal states will develop more shared drone defence capabilities "in light of the nationwide increase in drone overflights", said a Hamburg city government statement Wednesday.

Officials from German states bordering the Baltic and North Seas -- Hamburg, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania -- will meet on Friday. Security officials, drone researchers and industry representatives are also expected to attend.

In recent months, incidents involving suspicious drones have increased, particularly in areas near the Baltic Sea.

That has prompted speculation that the unidentified drones are taking off from ships in Russia's "ghost fleet" of tankers used to circumvent sanctions.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government has blamed Moscow for multiple drone sightings over German military and industrial sites. In September, he vowed that all necessary measures would be taken to deter such incursions.

The incidents are seen as part of a broader campaign of espionage, disruption and intimidation aimed at Germany and other European supporters of Ukraine.

But careless amateur drone operators are also likely behind at least some of the incidents.

On Sunday evening, Bremen Airport suspended flights due to an unidentified drone, and a drone near Berlin's airport briefly halted flights on Friday.

A series of drone sightings at the Munich Airport in early October paralysed operations for several hours on two consecutive days.