In the Czech Republic, they plan to significantly expand the powers to combat UAVs that pose a potential danger. The Ministries of the Interior and Transport have submitted a joint bill that will allow security service employees to protect the sky over critical infrastructure facilities, reports UNN citing "Radio Prague".
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Currently, in the Czech Republic, only police officers and military personnel have the right to eliminate or neutralize UAVs. The bill proposes to grant these powers to trained personnel of private and state strategic companies.
The new rules are a response to the growing number of incidents related to unauthorized drone flights near protected facilities. The goal of the law is to create a clear legal framework for a quick and proportionate response to the threat from UAVs. "Not only here in the Czech Republic, but also abroad, these threats are becoming increasingly significant, and their frequency is constantly growing," said the head of the Czech Ministry of the Interior, Lubomír Metnar.
Company employees will have to undergo training and obtain the necessary equipment. The Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic, Ivan Bednárik, clarified that the bill will concern international airports, energy hubs, nuclear power plants, transformer substations, railway traffic control systems, oil, gasoline, gas storage facilities, and other objects. As an example, he cited the energy company ČEZ. "I can quite imagine that its regular employee will undergo retraining and be equipped with means to neutralize a drone," the Minister of Transport stated.
The state promises to help businesses with methodology and the legal framework, but companies will have to purchase anti-drone systems and train employees at their own expense. At the same time, the innovation will be a right for businesses, not an obligation.
In addition, the bill will expand the powers of the police themselves. If currently its officers can shoot down a drone only in the event of an obvious threat to human life or property, then after the adoption of the amendments, it will be allowed to eliminate a UAV immediately, at the first suspicion of espionage.
In the near future, the document will be sent for interdepartmental approval, during which the exact list of facilities falling under the definition of critical infrastructure will be finally approved.