The Leipzig drone bomb marks a dangerous escalation for Europe

Initial evidence suggests aerial drone, found near Ukrainian cargo planes at German airport, came from Russia The armed drone found at Leipzig airport on Wednesday may not have exploded, but the fact that it got inside the perimeter, close to Ukrainian cargo planes, raises obvious concerns for the security of international aviation. Though the identity of the culprits is unknown, the initial evidence points firmly towards a Russian-orchestrated plot. It is the first time that a drone with explosives has been found in Europe far from the Ukrainian border. Photographs published by German newspapers show a quadcopter, a design familiar from the Ukraine war, with a package attached. It lies a few metres short of a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane, with its easily identifiable yellow and blue trim livery. Police from the German state of Saxony confirmed that the drone was “carrying an unknown explosive device” discovered by an employee in the “secure cargo flight operations area” near the airport’s southern runway. German media reported the attached bomb was made of PETN and semtex plastic explosive – the second of the two being the munition that exploded inside Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie.