Following security incidents at military sites, NATO is sending employees at Geilenkirchen airfield home. There is talk of a possible threat.
Geilenkirchen – NATO is increasing the security level at its airfield in Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, due to a possible threat. All employees who were not required for the mission were sent home as a precautionary measure, said a spokesman for the base. The basis was intelligence information that pointed to a possible threat. “This is not a cause for concern and is purely a precautionary measure to ensure that we can continue our critical operations,” said the spokesman.
The police confirmed that they were on duty. No further details were given, including the number of officers deployed.
Around a week ago, there were several incidents at military sites. For example, the police and state security were investigating a security incident at the waterworks of the Cologne-Wahn air force barracks on suspicion of an act of sabotage directed against the German army. Suspicious observations were also made in Geilenkirchen. According to information from security circles, a person in the vicinity of the airport was taken into custody for questioning, but the suspicion was not substantiated.
Geilenkirchen near Aachen on the border with the Netherlands is the base for NATO’s special AWACS aircraft. The machines with the mushroom-shaped radar structure have surveillance and coordination tasks in the airspace of the defense alliance. The abbreviation AWACS stands for “Airborne Warning and Control System”. Translated, this means something like airborne early warning and control system. dpa
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