Third drone and suspected military explosives found near Leipzig airport

German investigators uncovered a third drone and suspected military explosives thought to be connected to an attempted attack on Leipzig airport, local media have reported.

The drone was discovered in Kabelsketal, just to the west of the airport, along with about 50g (1.8oz) of a suspected military explosive on 14 August, 10 days after the unsuccessful sabotage. Leipzig airport is a cargo and military logistics hub used by Nato and Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines for transporting military supplies.

The office of the prosecutor general, which is leading the investigation, declined to comment on Tuesday. But the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the government would soon provide information about who it believed was behind the drone attacks.

“They will pay for this,” Merz said, stopping short of naming a suspect, before a cabinet meeting in Brandenburg. He added that the government was “working intensively on this together with the security authorities and we will present our findings and comment on them shortly”.

Intelligence sources cited by the broadcasters NDR and WDR and the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung said they suspected the involvement of Russian intelligence in the attempted attack. Moscow has denied involvement.

The German government has so far avoided expressing a clear position as to whether it thinks Russia, or an actor close to it, is responsible.

Merz said the attempted attack showed that Germany was increasingly becoming a target. “Attackers are increasingly ruthlessly accepting even serious property damage, and even injuries and deaths,” he said on Tuesday.

A drone carrying explosives was found on 4 August near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane used for military supplies. According to investigators, the drone was apparently intended to land on the wings of the aircraft, which was filled with kerosene, but the explosive device did not detonate.

Investigators say that about 20 minutes after the discovery of the first drone, a second drone possibly collided with a DHL cargo plane, which was forced to abort its landing manoeuvre and was diverted to Marseille.

According to the latest media reports, an inspection of the DHL aircraft revealed damage to the tail section, suggesting a collision with an object. However, the drone has not yet been found. Investigators believe it could have been sucked into the engines after the collision and shredded into small pieces.

The third drone was found in a field in a municipality that directly borders the western edge of Leipzig airport. Forensic technicians from the federal criminal police office found residues of a substance that initial assessments indicated could have been the highly explosive substance hexogen. This explosive also failed to detonate, but the investigators’ report, according to the media reports, stated: “The perpetrators may have had a far larger attack in mind than previously known to the public.”

Other suspicious traces and components were also discovered close to the airport, the report said. In Kursdorf, investigators found an antenna attached to a tree, and other electronic parts, which may have been used to control the drones. Close by and near where witnesses reported hearing a loud bang on the day of the incident, investigators discovered a burnt patch and charred metal parts.

If the drones had exploded, they could have caused a catastrophe, German officials said.