The Romanian Senate has approved a bill on airspace control, regulating the procedures under which the army can shoot down drones that illegally enter the country's airspace.
Points of attention
- Romania's Senate has passed a bill allowing the army to shoot down Russian drones that illegally enter the country's airspace, in response to the threat posed by drones used to attack port infrastructure in the Odessa region.
- The new law establishes strict measures to control the national airspace, enabling the destruction or neutralization of unauthorized drones crossing the Romanian border.
- The legislation sets the stage for enhanced cooperation and coordination with NATO military forces to ensure safer flying conditions and compliance with airspace rules.
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The draft law establishes measures to control the use of national airspace, and also identifies bodies and institutions responsible for preventing and countering unauthorized use of airspace by manned and unmanned aircraft.
According to the document, UAVs that illegally cross the Romanian state border and fly in national airspace without permission will be able to be destroyed or neutralized if their flight cannot be "taken under control" by Romanian or NATO military forces.
Thus, a new framework for cooperation and coordination will be created at the level of authorities and institutions with competences in managing and monitoring national airspace, as well as ensuring compliance with the rules of its use, which contributes to improving flight safety.
It is important to note that the bill was approved by the Senate. In the Romanian legislative process, this means that the law no longer needs approval from the Chamber of Deputies and will be sent to the President for signature.
Thus, the law has actually already been adopted, but will formally enter into force after publication.
As a reminder, several weeks ago, fragments of Russian Geran drones were discovered in Romania. The Russians used them to attack Ukrainian port infrastructure in the Odessa region.
