What is the central legal and operational dilemma German critical infrastructure operators face regarding drone threats?

Critical infrastructure operators in Germany face a growing gap between escalating hybrid threats—including suspicious and potentially hostile drone activity—and their tightly constrained ability to respond, especially since they lack clear authority to disable or shoot down threatening drones, leading to concerns over liability and delayed response times; as RWE CEO Markus Krebber stated, 'If a drone is approaching and you know the damage will be significant, but face unclear liability risks, the solution cannot be to call the police.'

What specific policy shift are German officials and energy executives advocating to address drone threats to critical infrastructure?

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and energy executives like Krebber and Dohler are advocating for empowering critical infrastructure operators—not just to detect drones, but to actively carry out drone defense measures themselves, including deploying surveillance technology beyond facility boundaries and clarifying legal liability, because existing peacetime rules and bureaucratic processes are no longer sufficient against hybrid attacks.

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