Czech critical infrastructure operators to be allowed to down drones

Companies operating Czech critical infrastructure will be permitted to shoot down potentially dangerous drones under proposed legislation.

The proposed legislation would allow security personnel at critical infrastructure facilities to play a direct role in protecting the airspace above their sites, Caliber.Az reports, citing Czech media.

The bill was jointly drafted by the Czech Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Transport.

Under current Czech law, only on-duty police officers and military personnel are authorised to destroy unmanned aerial vehicles. The bill would extend those powers to specially trained security guards employed by commercial and state-owned strategic companies.

The legislation is intended to establish a legal framework for a rapid response to threats posed by drones. Security personnel at international airports, energy facilities, nuclear power plants, transformer substations, railway traffic control systems, and oil, fuel and gas storage facilities would be among those eligible to receive the new authority.

The final list of sites classified as critical infrastructure will be determined during the interagency review of the draft law.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov