German military bans Chinese-made drones

BERLIN

Bavaria's State Premier Markus Soeder and German Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche inspect a TYTAN interceptor drone at the launch of serial production of the drones on November 9, 2026 in Munich, Germany. (Getty Images)

The German military has banned the use of Chinese drones, including for training, and is replacing them with European models, the Defense Ministry said on Nov. 11.

Citing the need for data and IT security, the ministry said that “Chinese-made models will no longer be used and existing systems will be replaced by products from domestic or, where applicable, European sources.”

Germany’s drone ban follows the U.S. military banning China’s BYD electric vehicles from its Kadena airbase on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Kadena, the biggest U.S. air force base in east Asia, would be directly involved in responding to a crisis involving China, Russia or North Korea.

The German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that the drones, acquired by military units in recent years with limited bureaucratic oversight, are being withdrawn from service as quickly as possible.

Local commanders had been allowed to buy the drones under a 2024 strategy that included a “white list” of approved systems, including several made by the China-based DJI, the world’s largest drone maker.

As there is no central record of purchases by individual units, the military has to ⁠impose a blanket ban, Der Spiegel reported.

In February, Poland barred Chinese-made vehicles from entering its military facilities over concerns that onboard sensors could be used to collect sensitive data.

The army said Chinese-made vehicles may still be allowed on to secured sites if specified functions are disabled.