Authorities say an explosive drone found near a jet in Leipzig was a "serious attack" on Germany - amid reports the Ukrainian aircraft was loaded with ammunition.
Bomb disposal experts removed a detonator from the device at Leipzig/Halle airport after reports of flying objects closed both runways late on Tuesday.
Another jet also sustained minor damage after being hit by an object while diverting to another airport.
Germany's intelligence chief said the incident was "professionally" prepared and showed a "new threat quality".
Federal prosecutors called it "a serious attack on the transportation and logistics infrastructure in Germany" that was capable of undermining "external and internal security".
The drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane and German media reports claim the Antonov aircraft was carrying military ammunition.
However, politician Detlef Seif, a member of the parliamentary interior committee, told Reuters he had been told unequivocally "the planes were not loaded with ammunition or weapons".
German outlet Bild also cited an unnamed source as saying a technical defect had prevented the device from exploding.
Ukrainian planes regularly use Leipzig, a major cargo hub and a base for a NATO programme that's helping deliver equipment to its eastern flank near Russia.
Tuesday's incident occurred with German airports already on alert due to drone sightings over sensitive areas.
Military facilities, energy terminals, seaports and logistics companies have all reported drone overflights in recent months.
Russia is the prime suspect after Western agencies accused it of being behind a number of incendiary devices hidden in parcels that caught fire in 2024, including one at a logistics centre at Leipzig airport.
It's denied responsibility for those incidents, as well as the drone sightings.
A search is continuing in Leipzig for any parts or wreckage from the object that hit the diverting cargo aircraft - which landed safely in Hannover.
Germany's interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, said anti-drone technology was in place at airports but the one at Leipzig appeared to have been designed to get around those safeguards.
He agreed it was a step up from previous incidents, saying "a drone armed with explosives at an airport is a new threat scenario".
"The assessment we made months ago - that we are facing a high-level threat - is a reality," he added.
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