Recap: KRITIS Workshop with Live Demo Drone Detection
Duty. Practice. Panel: How operators of critical infrastructure can meet the KRITIS Umbrella Act
How do you protect critical infrastructure from threats that are no longer purely digital? That’s the question we explored on 14 September 2026 together with experts from a range of fields at the Stuttgart Golf Club Solitude. Guests from grid operation, energy supply and industry accepted the invitation to the workshop “KRITIS Umbrella Act: Duty. Practice. Panel.” A particular highlight was a live demonstration of drone detection and defence, right on the golf course.
After a welcome from Ulrike Dreyer, Head of Defence & KRITIS Solutions, and Kurt Mezger of the Bundesverband mittelständische Wirtschaft e.V., the afternoon opened with a keynote on the hybrid threat landscape by Lieutenant Colonel Dr Peter Schittenhelm (Landeskommando Baden-Württemberg): drone overflights during Bundeswehr exercises, sabotage of railway signalling, arson attacks on energy infrastructure – civilian infrastructure such as energy, water, healthcare and telecommunications is now just as much a target as military assets. One thing became clear: critical capabilities must never rest on a single person, and companies also need to build their own resilience. Markus Schiemenz (LKA Baden-Württemberg) added the police perspective: the picture on drone incidents shows an overall rising number of offences, even though classifying individual cases in practice often remains difficult.
A highlight of the afternoon: drone detection and defence live
A particular highlight of the workshop was the live demo by Walaris and Vanea Defence, right on the golf club’s driving range. David Sonntag and Markus Tietze (Walaris) demonstrated in practice how different sensors work together to detect unknown flying objects and identify them as drones using a neural network. Next, Jens Hillenkötter and Dr Oliver Hartkorn of Vanea Defence took over and showed how an identified drone can be neutralised using a high-intensity beam of light. An effector that, for example, blinds the drone’s camera stops it from continuing its flight without any physical destruction. For participants, it was an exciting opportunity to experience detection and defence not as theory but as tangible technology.
Theory, law and regulation
Benedict Schwind (MoxyByte) turned the focus back to distributed sites across the power grid. Following the three steps of detecting, assessing and acting, he showed how an initial sensor signal can be evaluated using further context and how protection can be ensured. Ulrike Dreyer presented the current status of the KRITIS Umbrella Act, in force since 17 March, as well as the KRITIS Kompass software solution, which guides operators step by step through the applicability assessment, risk analysis and audit preparation. Kevin Kohlhoff (MHP) drew the technical link to NIS2: an established ISMS already covers most of the requirements, though physical resilience and the reporting obligations under the KRITIS Umbrella Act remain separate tasks.
Expert panel: doing what’s possible
The event closed with an expert panel featuring the speakers, joined by Dr Hans-Walter Borries of the Bundesverband für den Schutz Kritischer Infrastrukturen (BSKI) e. V., who contributed his own assessment. Discussions covered the legal framework and the collaboration between business and politics. A central takeaway: the point is to do what’s possible, rather than simply talking about what isn’t yet.
Over a relaxed get-together on the terrace, participants continued their conversations. Once again, it became clear: physical protection of critical infrastructure is not purely a regulatory matter, but a practical task that requires technology, law and organisation to be thought through together.
We would like to thank all speakers warmly for their valuable insights and the open, expert exchange.
