By Dronelife Features Editor Jim Magill

The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, on February 11 issued an Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security, calling for EU members to conduct a coordinated response campaign to counter the growing threats arising from maliciously operated drones.

“The Action Plan sets a holistic approach by addressing the question of the protection of critical infrastructure, external borders, as well as proposing to adapt the necessary legislation to enhance the security from drones and deploy the latest technological evolution to increase detection and improve response,” the document states.

With the rapid evolution of small unmanned aerial systems as weapons of war in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and elsewhere, European leaders have long recognized the need for a comprehensive continent-wide counter-UAS strategy. In addition, a series of recent drone-related incidents, which have caused disruptions and closures at airports across western Europe, have further raised alarms across the continent.

The Action Plan also seeks to encourage the development and growth of a robust Europe-based UAS industry, which can be seamlessly incorporated into a more drone-friendly continental air traffic management system.

“From a European industrial perspective, the commercial airborne drone market segment alone is forecast to be worth around EUR 14.5 billion by 2030 and potentially exceed EUR 50 billion by 2033,” the plan states.

“However, recent incidents involving malicious or irresponsible use of drones have exposed significant and growing security challenges for the Union. Drones have been used in violation of Member States’ airspace, they have disrupted airport operations, and caused near-misses with civilian aircraft, highlighting vulnerabilities in our security architecture including in aviation safety.

Although the plan calls for “a coherent whole-of-government approach” toward counter-UAS operations it “focuses primarily on the civilian internal security side, where important gaps and loopholes remain.” 

Increasing EU Security Resilience 

Under the Action Plan, EU Member States are urged to strengthen counter-UAS resilience and preparedness. The document calls for the Commission and the Member States to work together to:

• Develop a voluntary plan to stress test the resilience of critical infrastructures against drone intrusion; 
• Adopt non-binding guidelines on resilience-enhancing measures for critical entities to counter threats posed by drones;
• Issue a recommendation on voluntary performance requirements for counter-drone systems and;
• Launch by the third-quarter of 2026 a coordinated security risk assessment on drones and counter-drone capacities, with a view to adopt a Drone Security Toolbox.

In addition, the Action Plan cites the need to work with law enforcement entities to provide them the tools they need to proactively use drones and to conduct effective counter-UAS measures.

“The objective is to provide law enforcement authorities with the right capacities and training to respond to drone threats and to use drones for public security objectives, such as crowd control,” the document states.

Improving Situational Awareness

The Action Plan also calls for improving systems to detect, track and identify drones, to counter the potential threats of malicious UAV activities.

“The absence of integrated air surveillance for drone activities, combined with the inherent limitations of detection capacities, allows malicious actors to potentially evade detection, at least temporarily,” the document states. 

“It is therefore essential to improve situational awareness of drone operations.”

The key to achieving such situational awareness lies in the integration of relevant data into a dedicated single-display system. Working within the regulatory framework of U-space, the existing European drone-traffic management system, and with the future strengthening of UAV registration requirements, “it will be possible to establish a capacity to detect, track and identify in near real time any legitimate drones.” 

In addition, the Plan calls for making all the relevant identifying and tracking data accessible to the appropriate authorities in civil aviation, law enforcement and the military. “This would allow them to monitor and assess the level of threats, ensure faster response and enforce liability for operators of drones that do not respect security measures.”

The Plan also calls for drone threat information to be shared among the Member States, and proposes the establishment of a user-friendly EU Drone Incident Platform, where relevant national authorities could access incident data on a near-real-time basis.

In another recommendation, the Action Plan calls for drone detection, tracking and identification capabilities to be integrated into national border surveillance systems to facilitate operational support and the coordinated handling of cross-border drone incidents.

Safe Integration of Drones Into the Airspace

Aside from recommending steps to beef up counter-UAS operations across the continent, the Action Plan also calls for EU nations to pursue measures to encourage the growth of the European-made drone market. “By the end of 2024, the EU drone ecosystem had surpassed two million registered operators, representing an increase of around 20% in just one year,” the documents states. 

“The EU has already established a comprehensive aviation framework for airborne drones, providing a strong foundation for the safe development of a rapidly growing sector. However, evolving security threats and recent incidents have highlighted limitations in the current framework.”

The Commission, working in conjunction with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it would create a package of drone security reforms by the third quarter of this year. One of the proposed reforms would require registration and installation of remote ID for all drones, above 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces).

“The objective is to strengthen the identification and accountability of drone operations, both for drone operators and drone pilots,” the Plan states.

Maritime Drones, Balloons Part of Action Plan

In addition to recommending changes to regulations regarding aerial drones, the Action Plan also addresses changes to security operations to counter potential threats from unmanned aquatic and terrestrial vehicles as well as from unmanned balloons.

“The maritime domain is particularly susceptible to threats and attacks by aerial, surface and underwater drones. Enhanced maritime domain awareness is essential to protect critical maritime infrastructure and serve military needs,” the Plan states.

The Commission promised to launch a pilot action to enhance maritime domain awareness among EU Member States.

Over the past year, several hundred meteorological balloons have been launched from outside the EU into the airspace of some Member States for illicit purposes, such as smuggling, the document notes. The action plan calls for the establishment of a working group to look at ways to counter potential threats from balloons, such as spectrum monitoring and diversions of flight paths.

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Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with almost a quarter-century of experience covering technical and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring in December 2019 as a senior editor with S&P Global Platts, Jim began writing about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots and drones, and the ways in which they’re contributing to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.