Drone Days is receiving political support from Berlin: two members of the Bundestag have agreed to serve as patrons for the event. The fact that lawmakers from both governing parties are serving as patrons underscores the bipartisan importance of unmanned aviation for our region.
Patron Uwe Schmidt, Member of the German Bundestag
On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, we will kick off Drone Days at the Bremenhalle at Bremen Airport, and we are delighted that Uwe Schmidt, Member of the German Bundestag, will address the participants as the event’s patron.
Uwe Schmidt has represented the Bremen II-Bremerhaven constituency in the German Bundestag as a member of the Bundestag since 2017. A trained port worker and longtime chairman of the works council at the Bremerhaven Port Authority, he knows what it means to roll up his sleeves—and brings this attitude to his political work as well.
In the 21st German Bundestag, Uwe Schmidt serves on the Budget Committee and is the rapporteur for Section 12 (Digital Affairs and Transport). He also chairs the Federal Financing Committee and serves as an alternate member of the Transport Committee. Since 2022, he has served as the “pilot” of the Coastal Group within the SPD parliamentary group, which advocates for the interests of northern German coastal regions.
Since December 2025, Uwe Schmidt has also been a member of the advisory board of Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, an organization that plays a key role in the integration of unmanned aerial systems into German airspace.
We look forward to his opening remarks on opening day in Bremen!
Visit the website of Uwe Schmidt, Member of the German Bundestag
Patron Bastian Ernst, Member of the German Bundestag
On Thursday, August 27, 2026, we will head to the Oldenburg-Hatten airfield—where we will welcome Bastian Ernst, Member of the German Bundestag, as another patron of Drone Days; he not only represents the region politically but also knows it intimately. To kick off the second day of Drone Days 2026, Bastian Ernst, Member of the German Bundestag, will welcome the participants with a brief address.
Bastian Ernst has served as a member of the Bundestag since March 2025, representing the region where our Hatten-UAS German Flight Center is located. A native of Delmenhorst, he serves on the Bundestag’s Defense Committee and has been chairman of the Subcommittee on Arms Control and Nonproliferation since October 2025. He is also an alternate member of the Committee on Digital Affairs and State Modernization.
He also brings extensive expertise at the intersection of technology and security. As a certified IT specialist in system integration and a business economist, he worked at Rheinmetall Electronics and as head of digital business development at Dynamit Nobel Defence, among other roles, before joining the Bundestag. This combination of technical expertise and responsibility for defense policy is of great significance in the current debate on unmanned systems.
We look forward to his opening remarks on Thursday in Hatten!
Visit the website of Bastian Ernst, Member of the German Bundestag
Drone Days 2026 will take place from August 26 to 28, 2026, at Bremen Airport and Oldenburg-Hatten Airfield. You can find all the information here.
It is a great pleasure for me.
Yours, Harald Rossol