Drone with explosives found at German airport, official sees 'new quality' of threat

Regional police and prosecutors said an airport employee discovered a drone near the airport's south runway with "an unknown explosive device," and the object was examined by police

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1920x1280+0+0/resize/1920x1280!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F04%2F17%2F9d8cf5594e7c81f23b4f0de96a2b%2Fap26217476847754.jpg' alt='A forensic technician works alongside a bomb-disposal robot near a Ukrainian aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where a drone with an explosive device was found and a detonator was removed from the object, in Schkeuditz, Germany, Wednesday Aug. 5, 2026.'/><p>Regional police and prosecutors said an airport employee discovered a drone near the airport's south runway with "an unknown explosive device," and the object was examined by police</p><p>(Image credit: Hendrik Schmidt)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-137571' />