Military-grade drones packed with explosives have turned up at a German airport that serves as a NATO logistics hub for Ukraine — and Washington's foreign policy class will use every one of them to demand more American money and deeper involvement in Europe's war.

German investigators have now uncovered a third drone and roughly 50 grams of the military explosive hexogen near Leipzig/Halle airport, according to public broadcasters NDR and WDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The device was found August 14 in Kabelsketal, just west of the airport, ten days after the initial sabotage attempt. The detonator failed. Investigators' reports state that "the perpetrators may have had a far larger attack in mind than previously known to the public," The Guardian reported.

The first drone was discovered on the tarmac near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane on the night of August 4–5. That aircraft was filled with kerosene. The explosive device did not detonate. About 20 minutes later, a second drone may have collided mid-air with a DHL cargo plane, which aborted its landing and diverted to Marseille. An inspection revealed damage to the tail section; the drone has not been recovered. Investigators believe it may have been shredded in the engines.

Other traces were found in Kursdorf, north of the airport: an antenna taped to a tree, electronic components that may have been used to control the drones, scorched earth, and charred metal fragments — possibly a blast site.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared Tuesday that Germany is "under threat" and that those behind "hybrid attacks" against the country "will pay for them." He declined to name a suspect. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said earlier this month that "many indications" point to a state actor. Intelligence sources cited by German media suspect Russian intelligence. Moscow has denied involvement. The German government has so far refused to state a clear position on attribution.

Here's what should concern Americans. Politico reported that Merz's government is using this threat landscape to push expanded powers for Germany's foreign intelligence agency, the BND — including authority to carry out acts of sabotage and offensive cyber operations. The Guardian and Euronews both omitted that detail. A German intelligence report said last year the country's security "worsened significantly" since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Now that deterioration is the pretext for a domestic surveillance expansion — and the case for more Western solidarity spending.

Leipzig is not just a commercial airport. It is a military logistics hub for NATO and a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines, which transports military supplies. Euronews reported the Antonov plane at the scene was painted in Ukrainian national colors with the words "Be Brave Like Kherson" on the fuselage — a reference to a Ukrainian region battered by Russian strikes. That's a military asset in an active war zone, parked on European soil. The target was the supply chain feeding a proxy war, not German holidaymakers.

Nobody should minimize the danger of explosive drones at civilian airports. But Americans should ask the questions the establishment press won't: What U.S. interest is served by deeper involvement in a conflict now spilling explosive drones onto NATO territory? Who profits from the expanded intelligence budgets and military commitments? And when, exactly, do we get an exit?