The CDU in North Rhine‑Westphalia is calling for a nationwide coordinated strategy to counter air‑borne threats. In a proposal for the party’s federal congress in Stuttgart in February, the state association urges the development of a “National Drone‑Defense Strategy”. The initiative is justified by the view that the current division of responsibilities between federal, state and military authorities is no longer fit for the sharply rising threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles in recent years.
According to the written submission, differing legal bases, uneven procedures and unclear lines of responsibility can cause delays or uncertainty when a drone incident occurs. A national strategy would provide the urgently needed clarity. Its main objective is to establish unambiguous federal responsibilities for the armed forces, the Federal Police and local police forces, thereby avoiding diffusion of accountability and enabling swift, coordinated response to complex or rapidly escalating drone situations.
The proposal also includes a requirement for operators of critical infrastructure to prepare risk analyses and standardised protection, alerting and reporting concepts, so that threats can be detected, reported and neutralised early. In addition, the CDU requests a legally robust framework for federal assistance to the armed forces, allowing a fast, coordinated and situation‑adapted deployment against threats from military or high‑performance drones.
Moreover, the state association stresses the role of the Länder. “State police remain the first responders in many scenarios” it says. They need specialised units, mobile defence equipment and reliable legal foundations, especially to effectively counter commercially available “small drones”.
