{"text":[[{"start":9.28,"text":"German police said a drone carrying an improvised explosive device was found overnight at Leipzig Halle airport, one of Europe’s main bases for Ukrainian Antonov cargo planes."}],[{"start":20.24,"text":"A transport plane collided after take-off with another flying object, suspected to be a second drone, with minor damage incurred, the Dresden public prosecutor said on Wednesday."}],[{"start":31.68,"text":"After a spate of drone incursions at European airports in recent years, this is the first time that explosive material has been identified by investigators, marking a potentially significant escalation in threat."}],[{"start":43.92,"text":"German police and security agencies’ counterterrorism and sabotage units were working with local authorities to try to identify the drones’ operators, the prosecutor said."}],[{"start":54.32,"text":"European intelligence agencies believe Russia has been behind several airport incursions with drones in the past two years."}],[{"start":60.86,"text":"Security officials told the FT that links to Russia were now at the forefront of investigators’ minds, but they noted work was at an early stage and nothing concrete had yet been established. The incidents were being considered a national security threat, they said."}],[{"start":75.68,"text":"Drone attacks are difficult to detect and harder still to attribute — even relatively large drones are invisible to most commercial radar systems and their operators typically evade capture. False sightings, copycat attacks and the activities of regular drone hobbyists complicate investigations."}],[{"start":93.32,"text":"In 2024, Russian intelligence agencies used proxies to plant incendiary devices in parcels that were then posted to locations in Europe. One of the devices exploded on the ground at Leipzig airport in July that year."}],[{"start":106.86,"text":"As well as being a hub for Ukrainian cargo planes, Leipzig Halle is a significant regional civilian airport, handling just over 2mn passengers a year. Flight disruptions to passenger services at the airport continued into Wednesday."}],[{"start":121.28,"text":"“During the night of 4 to 5 August 2026, a drone carrying an unknown explosive device was detected by an airport employee in the security area of the cargo operations near the south runway,” the Dresden public prosecutor said."}],[{"start":136.12,"text":"Bomb disposal experts were dispatched by German federal police, and a detonator was removed from the device. The plane that collided with a suspected drone landed in Hanover but the drone had yet to be found, the prosecutor said."}],[{"start":147.56,"text":"A paper by the International Institute of Strategic Studies last month concluded that Russia was likely to be responsible for dozens of drone incursions over European airports and sensitive military sites since 2024. None of the 144 incidents in the study involved drones known to be carrying explosives."}],[{"start":167.48,"text":"Most of those operations were likely to have been for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes, the study’s authors concluded. Some, however, were clearly deliberately disruptive and intended to cause airports to shut down, it said."}],[{"start":181.36,"text":"Russia’s sabotage campaign against Europe has escalated significantly in recent years, with the Kremlin growing more reckless in its tolerance of civilian casualties in the pursuit of its objectives, European intelligence agencies say. Moscow has suggested it may consider supply chains for the Ukrainian war effort — even when they reach into Europe — to be potential targets."}],[{"start":202.72,"text":"Leipzig Halle has served as a base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines since 2022. It also serves as a maintenance depot for the company’s huge planes."}],[{"start":216.56,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785986615_9183.mp3"}