German Ministry of Defence defends O-Plan security protocols

The German Federal Ministry of Defence has stated that there is no need to change the handling of the ‘Operationsplan Deutschland’ (O-Plan) despite the potential for the AfD to participate in the government of Saxony-Anhalt.

Following the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD received 43.8 percent of the vote, Bastian Ernst, president of the Reservists' Association, warned that defense information could ‘with considerable certainty leak to Russia’ if the party takes power. He called for the plan to be withdrawn from the state.

The Ministry of Defence responded by emphasizing the ‘need-to-know principle,’ noting that sensitive parts of the plan are only shared selectively. A complete document is never transmitted to a federal state; instead, state commands act as central points of contact, passing on only the specific information required for local tasks. The Ministry maintains that the reliability of recipients is closely monitored and that these security protocols remain unchanged regardless of political developments.