Mysterious drone sightings over South Braunschweig: What's behind them?

Mysterious drone sightings over South Braunschweig: What's behind them?

In the last few days, the sky over southern Brandenburg has been puzzling. In the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, swarms of drones are increasingly being sighted, causing not only the residents but also the police to be in turmoil. These remarkable observations first occurred on October 18th in the Saxony-Brandenburg border area, which led to a cross-border police operation being launched. Officials were able to confirm the sightings, but the identity of the pilots and the origin of the drones remain a big mystery, as Welt reports.

Up to ten drones flying in parallel appear regularly and are only visible in the dark. Office director Christian Konzack has brought a possible military background into play and describes the drones as “really big” with a diameter of at least one meter. Concerned citizens reported failing to attempt to launch their own drones due to blocked GPS signals, making the situation even more mysterious.

Drone alarm in Brandenburg

However, the sightings in Brandenburg are not limited to the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district. According to Tagesschau, a total of 84 drone sightings were registered in the region by September 23, 2025 - a sharp increase compared to the 58 sightings for the entire previous year. Many of these drones flew over military installations, industrial facilities and even airports. Brandenburg's Prime Minister Woidke described these events as an “escalation” that may be related to Russian drones over Poland.

Experts such as military expert Ralph Thiele currently see no acute danger from these drones as long as they are not equipped with jammers or explosive devices, but warn of a possible shoot-down as falling debris could injure people and damage infrastructure. Thiele appeals to the need to develop systems for early detection of drones and to seek international cooperation to effectively address this growing challenge.

Reaction of the authorities

In view of the increasing number of drone sightings, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has already announced steps to involve the Bundeswehr in drone defense and to develop a new aviation security law. The Brandenburg Ministry of the Interior is planning measures to ensure public safety during unauthorized drone activities. Similar incidents, such as the paralysis of airports by drones in Copenhagen, Oslo and Schleswig-Holstein, have underlined the urgency of these measures.

The use of drones, both in the civil and military sectors, is a topic of growing importance and is causing discussions not only in Germany but worldwide. Drones are an important tool for a wide variety of applications, but their uncontrolled use also raises pressing questions about the protection of the civilian population, as the Federal Agency for Civic Education addresses in detail. While military drones are often used for surveillance purposes, the legal regulations in the EU are clear: civilian drones are not allowed to operate in security-critical areas.

The situation remains exciting and the coming weeks will show how the authorities deal with this challenge. In any case, the mystery surrounding the drones in the evening sky in southern Brandenburg will keep us busy for a while.