Drones sighted over German army site in Mechernich

Drones were detected above an army installation at Mechernich in western Germany, a military operational command spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The spokesman said the site's security centre reported the sightings to police on Thursday. Police opened an investigation, he said, without giving further details.

Mechernich is a special army site used to store equipment at a depth of 130 metres across about 30,000 square metres. It houses components for US-made Patriot air-defence systems, which Ukraine has often requested to defend against Russian aerial bombardments.

The incident follows the discovery days earlier of an explosives-laden drone near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport. The airport plays a key role in transporting military goods for the German military and NATO allies.

European countries have reported drone sightings over sensitive sites in recent years. Many European leaders have blamed Moscow amid tensions linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.