Germany investigates links between drone flights and Russian shadow fleet ship

German investigators are looking into whether unidentified drones that were flying in the north of the country in September are linked to a vessel from Russia's shadow fleet.

Spiegel said the vessel in question is a cargo ship about 100 metres long, which was near the city of Kiel in the neighboring Baltic Sea when drones were seen over Schleswig-Holstein.

Sources in security services noted that the ship's behaviour, along with data on its route and location, suggest the drones may have some connection to it.

It was also reported that the cargo ship meets the technical requirements for the take-off and landing of even large spy drones, including fixed-wing models resembling aircraft.

Spiegel noted that such a UAV, with a wingspan of over four metres, was spotted over Schleswig-Holstein at the end of September. It flew over strategically important infrastructure alongside smaller drones.

Investigators suspected that these drones could have been launched from a cargo ship of the appropriate size. There are also technologies, such as net systems, that allow such UAVs to land at sea.

The investigation revealed that the suspicious vessel, flying under the flag of a Caribbean state, had been at a visible distance during the drone sightings but remained outside Germany's territorial waters. The distance to the cargo ship was several dozen kilometres. Experts believe that controlling drones over such distances is technically possible, if necessary, using satellites.

After passing through the Kiel Canal, the ship headed east and entered a port in Russia a few days later. It is reported that the vessel may belong to Russia's so-called shadow fleet, although it is not included in the EU sanctions list, which contains over 440 names.

The German government is considering allowing the armed forces to shoot down drones under certain conditions.

On the night of 2-3 October, Munich airport suspended operations due to reports of drones, leading to the cancellation of dozens of flights.