The NATO air base in Geilenkirchen, Germany, has heightened its security level following “intelligence information indicating a potential threat,” the base announced late Thursday.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X, the base reported that “all non-mission essential staff have been sent home as a precautionary measure,” emphasizing that “the safety of our staff is our top priority” and that “operations continue as planned.”
The base has raised its threat level to Charlie, the second-highest of four alert statuses, which denotes that “an incident has occurred or intelligence has been received indicating that some form of terrorist action against NATO organizations or personnel is highly likely.”
This is the second instance in recent weeks that the Geilenkirchen base, which hosts NATO’s fleet of AWACS surveillance planes, has increased its security level. Last week, a nearby military base in Cologne was temporarily sealed off due to concerns over potential sabotage of the water supply. Additionally, the Geilenkirchen base reported an attempted trespassing incident on the same day, prompting a full security sweep.
The German military later confirmed that the water supply at the Cologne base was not contaminated, and NATO has previously warned of increased hostile activities, including sabotage and cyberattacks, attributed to Russia. Russia has often accused NATO of posing a security threat.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg noted in June that recent attacks are indicative of increased activity by Russian intelligence, with several incidents on NATO territory being treated as suspicious, such as the severance of an undersea cable connecting Svalbard to Norway in 2022.
