On the evening of October 8, an unidentified drone was detected flying in the no-fly zone over the NATO airbase in Geilenkirchen, western Germany. Der Spiegel reported this, citing a memo from a department that requested anonymity.

According to the document, the drone flew at low altitude over the runway for a minute. An alarm was immediately raised at the facility, after which police and military police arrived. The operator of the drone could not be identified. A base spokesperson noted that it was possible that the airfield's sensor system had triggered a false alarm.

The Geilenkirchen base is home to NATO's AWACS airborne early warning aircraft—converted Boeing 707s. These aircraft are responsible for monitoring the airspace along the Alliance's borders with Russia, including the early detection of potential threats, including nuclear weapons carriers. They play a key role in monitoring NATO's eastern flank.