German NATO air base lowers security level after ‘potential threat’

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the reduced security level.

BERLIN — The security level at a NATO air base in western Germany was raised temporarily because of intelligence information pointing to a “potential threat,” but was reduced again on Friday, the alliance said.

An announcement late Thursday night of the increase in the security level at the Geilenkirchen base didn’t elaborate on the nature of the potential threat, but said that all staff not essential to missions had been sent home as a precaution. It said operations continued as planned.

The Geilenkirchen air base, near the border with the Netherlands, is where the alliance’s Airborne Warning and Control System , or AWACS, surveillance aircraft are stationed.

On Friday afternoon, a post on the NATO AWACS fleet’s X account said that the security level had returned to its previous level. It said the temporary rise was “a precautionary measure.”

“All scheduled operations are proceeding as planned,” it added.

German news agency dpa said that a reporter saw police cars on and around the grounds of the air base. Police confirmed a deployment Thursday night, but gave no details.

Last week, a major German air force base near Cologne was locked down for several hours amid fears that its water supply might have been tampered with. An investigation found no evidence of such sabotage. There were also reports of suspicious observations at Geilenkirchen, and a person was briefly detained for questioning near the base, dpa reported at the time, but there turned out to be nothing untoward.

The incidents come at a time of jitters about the possible vulnerability of infrastructure to attempted Russian sabotage .

On Thursday, prosecutors in Flensburg, in Germany’s far north, said they were investigating suspected espionage for the purpose of sabotage, without elaborating on who might be behind it. German media reported that drones had been spotted over a chemical park in Brunsbuettel, on the North Sea coast.

编者按：本文已更新，以反映安全级别降低的情况。

柏林——北约表示，由于情报信息显示存在“潜在威胁”，德国西部一个北约空军基地的安全级别曾一度提高，但周五已再次降低。

周四晚间发布的一份关于提升盖伦基兴基地安保级别的公告并未详细说明潜在威胁的性质，仅表示所有非任务必需人员已作为预防措施被遣散回家。公告称，行动仍按计划进行。

盖伦基兴空军基地位于荷兰边境附近，是联盟的空中预警和控制系统（AWACS）侦察机的驻地。

周五下午，北约预警机舰队的X账号发布消息称，安全级别已恢复至此前水平。消息称，此前的临时提升是“一项预防措施”。

“所有预定运营活动均按计划进行，”声明补充道。

德国新闻社（dpa）报道称，一名记者看到空军基地内外有警车出现。警方证实周四晚间部署了警力，但未透露更多细节。

上周，科隆附近的一座德国空军主要基地因担心供水系统可能遭到破坏而封锁数小时。调查未发现此类破坏行为的证据。据德新社当时报道，盖伦基兴也出现了可疑情况，一名人员在基地附近被短暂拘留问话，但最终证实并无异常。

这些事件发生之际，正值人们对基础设施可能容易受到俄罗斯破坏的担忧之时。

周四，德国北部弗伦斯堡的检察官表示，他们正在调查一起涉嫌以破坏为目的的间谍活动，但并未透露幕后黑手是谁。德国媒体报道称，有人在北海沿岸布伦斯比特尔的一个化工厂上空发现了无人机。