The German military has banned the use of Chinese drones during training and has also restricted access for certain vehicles to base premises.
The decision was taken following an assessment by military counter-intelligence (MAD), which identified a risk of data being collected and passed to Chinese intelligence services, Bloomberg reports.
Security specialists concluded that drones and modern cars are capable of intercepting signals, creating a serious espionage threat.
In this context, Germany’s Ministry of Defence confirmed the phased withdrawal from service of civilian Chinese drones that had been used for training and as targets. Going forward, the use of any off-the-shelf drones will be subject to mandatory risk assessments. Existing systems are to be replaced as quickly as possible with German or European equivalents.
The defence ministry has also introduced restrictions on vehicles equipped with advanced sensors, cameras, radars and microphones. At the same time, the ministry clarified that this concerns technical risks rather than a blanket ban on cars from specific brands or countries for military personnel. The ministry is currently developing a unified policy on how such vehicles should be handled.