Drone over Landtag / Landeshaus Kiel

On the night of 25-26 September 2025, multiple drones were observed flying over critical infrastructure in and around the Schleswig-Holstein state capital Kiel. Among the sites overflown was the Landeshaus, the seat of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament (Landtag), with its distinctive glass facade. According to security circles cited by German media, the aircraft passed over the parliament building as part of a wider wave of sightings the same night.

The Landeshaus overflight did not occur in isolation. Witnesses and internal police records described a coordinated formation: a larger stationary "mother drone" hovering over the Kiel Fjord while smaller drones circled sensitive sites. Alongside the state parliament, the drones were reported over the thyssenkrupp Marine Systems submarine shipyard, the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, a coastal power plant, and parts of the Kiel Canal. The drones reportedly flew in parallel paths, a pattern investigators associate with systematic aerial surveying of ground installations rather than random hobbyist flights.

Schleswig-Holstein Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack confirmed the overflights, stating that the police reporting matched media accounts, and said authorities were investigating on suspicion of espionage and possible sabotage preparation. Prosecutors opened proceedings against unknown persons. The minister announced strengthened drone defence in coordination with other northern German states, the federal government, and the Bundeswehr.

The Kiel Landeshaus overflight fits a pattern of drone activity over German and Baltic critical infrastructure reported through 2025, which officials have characterised as possible hybrid threats. Authorities describe coordinated, systematic reconnaissance, but attribution remains officially unconfirmed and the investigation is against unknown persons. Some commentators and security officials have publicly linked the broader wave to Russia; this remains an unproven, hedged assessment rather than an established finding for this specific incident.