Drone ban over Frankfurt Airport: just a pious wish given Russia’s hybrid warfare.Image: imago-images.de / Daniel Kubirski
A team of young German journalists conducted research with sensational results.
Dec 12, 2025, 4:23 p.mDec 12, 2025, 4:23 p.m
Bojan Stula / ch media
Russia’s hybrid warfare against Europe is becoming increasingly widespread. Germany’s Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) warns in a report published on Tuesday of an unprecedented intensity of espionage, sabotage and disinformation operations. According to MAD, Putin’s intelligence services are “under great pressure to succeed” and are particularly collecting information that could mean “a tactical advantage on the battlefield.”
This alarming analysis is reinforced by research published on Thursday by seven young German journalists from the Axel Springer Academy and the “Bild” newspaper. The septet has identified “striking similarities” between the voyages of ships from the Russian shadow fleet and drone sightings over military targets.
Telltale pattern
The comparison of ship tracking data and drone reports each revealed a specific pattern: Whenever the ships made unusual circles and zigzags in the North and Baltic Seas, drone alarms were triggered in Germany within a few hours. The Jung researchers were able to detect a total of 19 such matches.
The focus was on three merchant ships, all of which can be attributed to the Russian shadow fleet, even if they fly under different flags:
- The container ship HAV Dolphin is traveling for a Norwegian shipping company under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, but has an exclusively Russian crew on board.
- The HAV Snapper sails for the same Norwegian shipping company, but under the Bahamas flag, and was serviced in Kaliningrad, Russia, for several weeks.
- And finally the Russian ship Laugawhich had previously served the Russian military base at Tartus in Syria.
At the times in question, all three ships were characterized by empty voyages without cargo orders and “wild navigation patterns” for which, according to experts, there is no other common explanation. All three are already on the list of the European security authorities and have been examined several times by police and customs – but without any findings.
Lack of controls
The research team attributes this to the superficiality of the control authorities, who did not have enough staff to examine all containers and possible hiding places on the large ships. There is therefore no conclusive evidence of the espionage activity of these ships, says Clemens Justus from the research team for “Bild”. But: “Our trail leads to Russia: not without a doubt, but that is currently the most likely.”
As a byproduct of their investigation, the team was able to review previously unpublished data from the Federal Criminal Police Office. These show the current extent of illegal drone activity in Germany.
From January to November 2025, there were a total of 1,072 incidents involving 1,955 drones. In only 29 of 498 cases investigated were the police able to identify the drone pilots. The swarms of drones observed almost exclusively flew over or near military installations.
Sources
(aargauerzeitung.ch)