Europe Must Let Weapons Makers Deploy Drone Countermeasures, KNDS Says

European governments should give weapons manufacturers legal authority to disable suspicious drones above their factories, a senior KNDS executive said, warning that restrictions leave companies dependent on authorities responding in time.

The Franco-German group intends to press its case in Brussels as European arms producers confront fires, suspected sabotage and espionage.

Several governments have attributed incidents to Russia.

Marcel Grisnigt, KNDS’s executive vice president for international development, said manufacturers already possess technology that could defend their facilities.

Permission to deploy it remains a barrier.

“We are developing and producing countermeasures ourselves. They could be deployed to protect our own sites, but then you need to have the legal authorization,” Grisnigt told POLITICO.

Legal Powers Lag Behind Threats

Counter-drone equipment can disrupt communications between an aircraft and its operator or bring it down physically.

Many European countries reserve their use for police and military personnel.

Grisnigt said companies must instead alert local authorities, leaving a window for damage to occur before intervention.

He pointed to France as a model. Under military planning legislation adopted over the summer, weapons producers and critical infrastructure operators can use counter-drone systems at their own facilities, he said.

Germany does not give defense companies equivalent authority, according to Grisnigt.

KNDS, which produces Leopard 2 tanks and Caesar self-propelled howitzers, has increased security staffing and protective measures after suspicious incidents affecting its operations.

A Moldovan man was arrested in July on suspicion of espionage after operating a drone above a KNDS factory in Munich.

French prosecutors are examining fires at electricity installations serving KNDS France and MBDA facilities as possible offenses against national interests.

Production Readiness at Risk

The security concerns extend across Europe. Estonia last week accused Russian intelligence of orchestrating an August arson attack against Milrem Robotics.

Authorities in Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Italy and Bulgaria are also investigating incidents at arms facilities.

Many of the affected manufacturers supply Ukraine.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that European factories producing weapons for Ukraine could become Russian military targets.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed an EU mechanism against hybrid threats.

NATO’s senior military commander, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, has urged allies to exchange more intelligence on Russian hybrid attacks.

Grisnigt warned that coordination could move too slowly to safeguard the production expansion intended to strengthen European readiness by 2030.

“We do not have the luxury of time,” he said.

A Push for European Protection

KNDS also wants defense manufacturers included in the EU’s critical infrastructure framework, which covers sectors such as electricity, telecommunications and ports.

That framework imposes security requirements and provides public support, including threat information. The defense industry falls outside its scope.

“The first thing we would need is simply access to intelligence. Based on intelligence, you can act,” Grisnigt said.

The company is seeking a Commission task force to test the defense industrial base’s resilience against hybrid threats.

It also wants factory protection measures to qualify for financing through the European Competitiveness Fund in the EU’s next long-term budget.

KNDS has begun contacting other European arms manufacturers and plans to raise the proposals with European Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius in the coming weeks.