Top German lawmaker calls for urgent drone defence build-up

A top lawmaker from Germany's ruling coalition has called for the immediate build-up of effective drone defence, given the threat of hostile drones in Europe.

Jens Spahn, parliamentary group leader of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right alliance, told the Mediengruppe Bayern media group in an interview released on Friday that an "integrated and agile technological ecosystem" is urgently needed to respond to drone threats, rather than relying on fighter jets.

He stressed that such a system must be in place now, not in five years.

Spahn highlighted lessons from Ukraine, which has been defending itself against Russian attacks, noting that the country built a drone factory in just a few months.

He stressed that Ukraine is using German-made systems like Gepard and IRIS-T to counter drones, and admitted, self-critically, that Germany has stripped its own military of such capabilities. He said these must now be restored without delay.