UK Defense Secretary John Healey announced on Monday that the army would be empowered to shoot down drones threatening the country's military bases. This was reported by The Telegraph, writes UNN.
Details
The Defense Secretary is expected to present his vision on how to protect the country's critical military bases in response to the growing threat from Russia.
Insiders hope the plans will cut through the "red tape" surrounding how the military can respond to drone sightings, allowing soldiers to take more "decisive action" to shoot them down using rifles and other technologies.
Last year, a series of mysterious drone sightings at four British airbases used by United States armed forces – RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, RAF Feltwell in Norfolk, and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire – caused alarm and the deployment of 60 British servicemen to protect them.
While the new powers will initially only apply to military installations, a source told the Telegraph that the government "is not ruling out extending these powers to other critical sites, such as airports."
We will always do whatever is necessary to keep the British people safe, and we are now developing new powers, which will be enshrined in law through our Armed Forces Act, to shoot down unidentified drones over British military installations.
Currently, troops can use specialized anti-drone equipment that can track incoming drones, intercept their signal, and force them to redirect. It can also disrupt GPS signals.
However, the new proposal will give the military or police a "kinetic option" to shoot them down on the spot, which they can currently only do in extreme circumstances.
It is unclear how soon these new powers will come into effect. However, defense chiefs are increasingly concerned about the risk of drones invading UK airspace, as well as cyberattacks from countries like China and Russia.
The decision comes after a series of drone incursions across Europe, including 19 Russian drones flying into Polish airspace last month, and other unmanned aerial vehicles being spotted in Denmark, Norway, and Germany.
Addition
Earlier, UNN reported that NATO is discussing the possibility of introducing unified rules for immediate response to Russian aircraft that pose a threat.