Putin ‘is prepared to take down a passenger jet in Europe’ after ‘Russian’ bomb drone sparks chaos at German airport

AN EXPLOSIVE-laden drone found at a German airport shows Vladimir Putin is prepared to take down a European passenger jet, an expert has warned. Panic broke out at Leipzig Airport on Wednesday after a rigged drone was discovered near a fleet of Ukrainian cargo planes. A bomb disposal robot deployed on Wednesday after a drone sighting at an airport in Germany Credit: AP Images of the terrifying bomb-laden device were released hours after the ordeal Credit: BILD Fotoservice Moments later, chaos escalated when a second unidentified object collided with an incoming aircraft. Security expert Will Geddes said the terrifying breaches had “shaken fear across not only militaries and across the world, but also commercial airports”. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! And he warned the chilling ordeal proved that Putin is more than capable of using a drone to blow up a passenger plane in Europe. Geddes told The Sun: “It’s a disaster waiting to happen.” Putin is willing to take down European passenger jets, experts warn Credit: AFP He added that the device could have been adapted to carry radioactive material or even a biological weapon. Geddes said: “The visible demonstration of the ability to get close to a cargo plane in an airport in Leipzig shows that if that had detonated… that would have had a drastic impact.” He also warned the West was lacking in the necessary countermeasures to defend against drones – a weakpoint which could leave Britain vulnerable. “These are almost impossible to stop in many regards, they’re also incredibly difficult to shoot out the sky by infantry,” he warned. Most read in The Sun The explosive-laden drone was just feet away from a Ukrainian cargo plane Credit: Getty A bomb disposal robot was called to investigate the device Credit: AFP “And then you put that into an environment like the United Kingdom, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Glasgow, anywhere with a major transport hub, then an FPV drone could cause huge impact.” He also highlighted how the immense range that UAVs have poses another major threat to Nato. Geddes said: “The versatility of launching an FPV drone is that you could launch it from your car, you could launch it from your home, you could launch it from virtually anywhere. “That ‘safe space’ of airspace outside an airport will extend quite far, depending on the aircraft and its ability to reach high elevation beyond the reach of a drone as quickly as it possibly can.” A German cop working at the site where a major security alert was declared Credit: Getty Flights had to be diverted overnight as bomb squads inspected the unmanned vehicle Credit: AFP Following the ordeal, shocking images of the drone were released as Nato investigators joined local authorities to launch a probe. Speculating on who was responsible, Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev said: “Who else could it be but Russia?“ German airports have been on high alert after a string of unauthorised drone overflights in recent months. Several unidentified flying objects have been seen worryingly near to military facilities, energy terminals, seaports and logistics companies. Putin sending drone swarms to Britain a 'mathematical certainty' IT’S a “mathematical certainty” that Vladimir Putin will spark chaos in Britain with drone swarms, an ex-Navy commander has warned. Russia has brazenly infringed Nato airspace and sought to wreak havoc in Europe over recent months. Former Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe told The Sun it’s only a matter of time before the Kremlin tries to send drone swarms to Britain. Read more here… Police say these overflights might be connected to Russian agents. Geddes also said Russia and the West are now “almost in an arms race of countermeasures” as they scramble to find ways to defend against UAVs. The expert said: “We’ve seen the evolution of the technology and capability these drones advance so quickly, especially in Ukraine.” Geddes added that the bomb drone has also sparked fear among potential suppliers who Russia might target. Police probing the UAV at the airport on Wednesday Credit: Getty Bomb squads swooped in to manage the situation Credit: Getty He said: “It’s not necessarily the end target, but it’s part of that supply chain, which if it’s interrupted, targeted, attacked, creates a concern. “Other people within that supply chain, who feel that even though they’re not directly contributing to the war effort by Russia in Ukraine, that they are part of that machinery and they could just as easily be targeted.” The drone on Wednesday was found near a fleet of planes owned by Antonov – a major Ukrainian aerospace firm. Antonov planes have used Leipzig/Halle as an operating base since Russia‘s full-scale invasion in 2022. After the drone was found, the southern runway of the airport, a major hub for DHL and Ukrainian jets, remained closed while bomb experts examined the device. X-ray imaging showed the drone was attached to a defective detonator. The explosive may have been one that can be made easily from fertiliser and petrol, according to Bild. Several planes, including a passenger flight, were diverted overnight. Amid the chaos while air traffic was being redirected, one cargo plane had to abort its landing. It then reportedly hit an unknown object before landing in Hanover, where minor damage to the nose section was discovered. European security agencies have been probing a series of incendiary devices concealed in parcels that caught fire in 2024. These incidents raised concerns that malicious actors may be planning to sabotage air cargo operators. Putin was even suspected of planting a parcel bomb on a flight headed to a depot in the UK. Some of the devices were found at a DHL warehouse in Leipzig and in freight shipments in transit across Europe. The Leipzig package started burning as it was being loaded onto a plane after it had come from Lithuania. The head of the German domestic intelligence agency said if it had exploded on the plane it could have brought it down. Comment now