Germany has issued a warning about espionage in the fields of drones and AI
Foreign intelligence services are taking an increasing interest in strategic research being conducted in Bavaria, Germany. They are paying particular attention to developments in the fields of aviation, space exploration, unmanned aerial vehicles, and artificial intelligence.
The Bavarian branch of Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has warned of a possible increase in espionage activity. Officials there emphasized that technological developments in these fields are of strategic importance and may therefore be of particular interest to foreign intelligence services.
Research in these fields in Bavaria is among the most advanced in Europe due to the close collaboration between academia, industry, and startups, and this is precisely what makes them “an extremely attractive target for economic and scientific espionage,” the BfV emphasized.
As noted, drone researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) regularly meet with scientists from China and Russia at the international aerospace conference Icasse to exchange knowledge.
This year, Icasse was held in Hong Kong, where scientists discussed drone technology, autonomous flight systems, satellite navigation, and artificial intelligence.
The Bavarian branch of the BfV warns that all results of research and scientific cooperation between scientists from China and Europe could be used not only in the civilian sector but also for the needs of China’s military-industrial complex.
Konstantin von Notz, deputy chair of the Alliance ’90/The Greens” parliamentary group in the Bundestag, called the cooperation between German researchers and their Chinese and Russian colleagues in the field of drones “alarmingly naive.”
According to him, the government must protect the security interests of Germany and Europe and prevent the leakage of information on such sensitive topics to authoritarian states.
Norbert Rettgen, deputy chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, also criticized the scientific exchange between German researchers and scientists from China and Russia. He called such cooperation irresponsible, primarily due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Rettgen believes that sharing knowledge with researchers from Russia and China amounts to “supporting the Chinese and Russian defense industries,” since in both countries civilian technologies are often used for military purposes.
This was reported by DW.
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