In the evening twilight of early December 2024, multiple drones appeared and vanished over the US military Air Base Ramstein in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. The state's Interior Minister Michael Ebling stated these were Russian-operated drones conducting reconnaissance on critical military and industrial infrastructure, including the BASF chemical plant in Ludwigshafen. These espionage flights gathered intelligence on troop deployments and military logistics, especially regarding NATO support for Ukraine. Terrorism experts consider these actions a continuation of hybrid warfare since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with heightened surveillance activities around German defense sites. German security agencies acknowledge difficulties in identifying and neutralizing drone pilots, citing technological and safety challenges. The Interior Ministry called on the federal government for advanced technical solutions to detect and counter such incursions in German airspace.

In the evening twilight of early December 2024, multiple drones appeared and vanished over the US military Air Base Ramstein in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. The state's Interior Minister Michael Ebling stated these were Russian-operated drones conducting reconnaissance on critical military and industrial infrastructure, including the BASF chemical plant in Ludwigshafen. These espionage flights gathered intelligence on troop deployments and military logistics, especially regarding NATO support for Ukraine. Terrorism experts consider these actions a continuation of hybrid warfare since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with heightened surveillance activities around German defense sites. German security agencies acknowledge difficulties in identifying and neutralizing drone pilots, citing technological and safety challenges. The Interior Ministry called on the federal government for advanced technical solutions to detect and counter such incursions in German airspace.