Marc Henrichmann, Chairman of the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Control Committee and a member of the CDU, proposed that German intelligence services be equipped for a proactive, cyber intervention against Russian drone manufacturers. He stated that this emphasis on offensive capabilities is central to the intelligence service reform he is currently preparing, speaking to the news channel Welt.
Henrichmann argued that the traditional model of merely “collecting intelligence” is no longer adequate. He stressed that the best drone is the one that never takes flight, thus preventing any threat to human life in Germany.
He elaborated that the services must be empowered to disrupt threats-ideally targeting the attack drone in Russia or the factory producing it-before those devices can be deployed against German airspace or against the safety of German citizens. Henrichmann insisted that the agencies must be fundamentally restructured and reformed so that they can “get ahead of the curve.”
To execute such preventive action, the intelligence services require specific “operational capabilities.” He referenced the cyber defense slogan “keep them busy,” suggesting that this translates to occupying adversaries’ resources, perhaps by utilizing German competencies to create uncertainty or fear in the aggressor regarding potential countermeasures that could, in turn, inflict mutual damage.
According to Henrichmann, Germany must now swiftly consolidate its resources and determine how to bundle these capabilities. He believes this heightened threat level serves as proof that outside forces are currently demonstrating serious hostility toward the country.
