Proposed draft law allows Romania to shoot down drones breaching its airspace

The Ministry of Defense (MApN) has put into public debate the draft law that sets out the conditions for shooting down drones and planes that enter Romania's airspace without permission. The document determines the measures the Army can take "in order to prevent and counter risks and threats to national security."

Thus, according to the draft law quoted by Biziday.ro, the authorities can take several measures when it comes to planes with a pilot that enter Romania's airspace.

These are, in order: establishing the aircraft's position, radio link, and identity; transmission of information and instructions from the ground to the pilot/crew of the aircraft for the authorized use of the Romanian airspace; interception of the aircraft that continues to use the Romanian airspace without authorization; execution of warning fire by interceptor aircraft; execution of destruction fire by interceptor aircraft; and execution of destruction fire by surface-based air defense systems.

Similarly, the draft provides that drones (unmanned aircraft systems) that breach the national airspace "can be destroyed, neutralized by disabling the command/control functions, or their flight can be taken under control." They can also be destroyed by air defense systems, including surface-based, national and/or allied or partner air defenses.

The legislative proposal comes after repeated breaches of the Romanian airspace by drones most likely used by Russia during its attacks on Ukrainian targets along the Black Sea and Danube River. Russian drone fragments have been found several times on Romanian territory.

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