EuropeAugust 25, 2026 4:07 pm • 2 min readA Ukrainian Antonov An-124-100M cargo aircraft is seen at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Dec. 20, 2025 (Vasily Krestyaninov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)German investigators uncovered a third drone and a batch of explosives that may have been part of an attempted attack against the Leipzig Airport earlier this month, the German media reported on Aug. 25.The details come weeks after a Ukrainian cargo plane loaded with ammunition was seemingly targeted by a drone carrying explosives at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport late on Aug. 4.Flights at the airport were suspended overnight on Aug. 5 after a "modified drone" was sighted and later found next to the Ukrainian Antonov Airlines An-124 transport aircraft, and a second "unidentified flying object" collided with an incoming DHL cargo plane.The third drone was found on Aug. 14 in a field in Kabelsketal, an area west of the airport, according to the German news outlets Suddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, and WDR.At the scene, German investigators also found what appeared to be about 50 grams of hexogen, a military explosive, leading them to conclude that the attack was meant to involve more drones than initially believed. It remains unclear why the found explosive was not detonated or what the role of the third drone was in the attempted attack.U.S. intelligence believes that the explosives-laden drone initially found at the airport belonged to Moscow, the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 7.German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the incident as an apparent "hybrid attack scenario" orchestrated by a state actor, but stopped short of accusing Russia of involvement.Western officials have been raising alarm over a growing number of Moscow-backed hybrid operations in European territory, from arsons to infrastructure sabotage and suspicious drone sightings near critical facilities.