Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry proposes ships, fighter pilots be allowed to shoot down drones without awaiting orders

Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry is proposing legislative amendments that will give navy ship commanders and fighter pilots the right to shoot down a drone without the need for an order from the Defence Minister, Bulgarian National Radio reported Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov as saying on October 23.

The decision to use weapons and combat equipment will be for self-defence, according to the amendments.

Under the current rules, permission is granted only by the minister.

A necessary condition for shooting down the drone is that it is being used as a weapon and is flying over areas such as military sites where such flights are banned.

“The processes that occur with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles are very rapid,” Stoyanov said.

“This requires a quick decision, quick decision-making, reaction, and, accordingly, delegation of rights to lower-level commanders will be necessary,” he said.

“As you know, the first policing permission to fire is given by the Minister of Defence. With such a rapid process, if we wait for an unmanned aerial vehicle, for the Minister of Defence to give permission throughout the entire chain, it will simply be too late.”

Recent weeks have seen several incidents of drone attacks in merchant ships off the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania, in some cases resulting in sinkings and loss of life. It is widely believed that Russia is behind these attacks.

(Photo: Lockheed Martin)