(The Minister of State for
Security):I am pleased to announce today that I am
publishing the Government’s UK Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Strategy
(“the Strategy”).
In recent years unmanned aircraft including ‘drones’ have evolved
rapidly in capability, availability, and their uptake for
commercial and leisure use. The development of unmanned aircraft
technology presents significant opportunities. In coming years
drones have the potential to revolutionise industries such as
logistics and even personal transport.
We want to safeguard this potential in order to maximise the
economic benefits drones can bring to the UK. This Strategy aims
to do that by setting out our approach to countering the threat
the malicious or negligent use of drones can bring, as happened
at Gatwick Airport in December 2018. It will provide the security
the public and drone users require to continue to enjoy the
benefits of leisure and commercial drone use, and facilitate the
growth of the drone industry.
The Government has been working for some time to reduce the risks
associated with illegal drone use. Since the Gatwick incident, we
have made significant progress in our ability to respond to
illegal drone activity. But given the challenge posed by rapid
advances in drone technology, and the threat it has the potential
to pose, the Strategy will provide overarching direction to our
efforts.
The UK Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Strategy focuses on mitigating
the highest-harm domestic risks resulting from malicious use of
aerial drones. These include:
- Facilitating terrorist attacks;
- Facilitating crime, especially in our prisons; and
- Disrupting critical national infrastructure (CNI)
The Strategy is forward-looking, flexible and will evolve along
with the underlying technology to keep ahead of the threat. It
encompasses the roles of both government and industry, and sits
alongside CONTEST, the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and the
UK’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy. It offers a single
vision to ensure coherence, efficiency and value for money. It
will also promote UK prosperity and inward investment, showing
our intent to create a safe and collaborative environment for the
incorporation of drones into business and society, as well as for
the UK becoming a world leader in counter-drone technology.
The Strategy is only concerned with countering the malicious,
illegal use of aerial drones. A forthcoming Aviation Strategy
will set out the Government’s strategy for the safe use of
emerging aviation technology, including legal drone use.
Copies of the Strategy are available in the Vote Office and to
download from the Gov.UK website.
