All international airports in Bulgaria must be equipped with anti-drone systems. This was agreed upon by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov and representatives of the airports in Sofia, Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv, Gorna Oryahovitsa, the Air Traffic Control Agency and the General Directorate of Civil Aviation. And all this is happening after a drone caused an emergency at Sofia Airport days ago, and planes were circling in the sky until they received permission to land. Vladimir Turtanski, a military advisor in several offices in our country, spoke to FACTI on the topic.
- Mr. Turtanski, a 30-kilogram drone literally caused an emergency at Sofia Airport. How do you view things now, a few days after the incident?
- A drone weighing 30 kilograms is a serious machine. This is a large drone. Drones are subject to classifications that their manufacturers, as well as those producing anti-drone systems, work on. The most widely used classification is according to NATO standards, which is freely available on the organization's website.
- What range does a drone of this type have - how many hours can it be in the air and from what distance can it be controlled?
- Such a large drone can be in the air for hours. Where can it be controlled from… Practically from any point on the globe.
- You don't have to be in Bulgaria, right?
- You don't have to be in Bulgaria, in Europe, on our planet, I would say. We can also control it from a space station. The important thing is to have the Internet. This is the necessary and sufficient condition.
- So it will be quite difficult to find the owner, or more precisely, the person who controls it?
- I doubt we will find him. In my opinion, in this situation it is about the following. There was an intermediary who took the drone and placed it in a certain place. Then - "smoke and smoke". It is possible that after leaving it, according to the instructions, he went to another place from where to pick it up. And then he ran away again, wherever his eyes could see or according to prior instructions. And most likely he doesn't know the person who is the guarantor. He got some money, did his job and everyone went their separate ways. In principle, this is how it works and with that the matter is closed for the person who carries and eventually returns the drone.
- If we accept all this as a course of action in the case of „Sofia“ Airport, what are we talking about. Why was it done…
- To „measure the temperature“ of „Sofia“ Airport, in military jargon. It was done to test how the system works. To see what happens in an emergency.
- And how do you act…
- Not at all - it turned out that the airport is completely defenseless. The terrain is carefree and clean for the next operation.
- How do you buy such a drone. Can it be bought freely and what should be done after that?
- You take your credit card, go to any drone store, and buy it.
- Are such drones sold in Bulgaria?
- Yes. They are sold. There are similar drones of this size. They are considered specialized and are used mostly in agriculture. You buy, get documents, register and use it.
- And here we come to the question of legislation. Is it in our country, or in the EU - is that the weak point in the regulation of the use of drones?
- The problem is not in the legislation. The law now says do not drink and drive, do not drive after using drugs, do not kill, etc. But we are witnessing similar events prohibited by law… The problem is in the implementation of the law.
- Specifically for Bulgaria and in general for the European Union, how should we protect ourselves? What is the experience in Europe?
- With anti-drone systems. They are generally of three types. The first type of anti-drone systems uses the means of “electronic warfare“. The second type is the so-called “rifle type“, in which the control of the drone is intercepted with a more powerful signal and the machine passes under your control. Such means are used by the services. Let's explain it simply. All drone manufacturers, we are talking about the more widespread ones for home use, use, say, 4, 5 programs worldwide. But even if there are 455 programs, with a more powerful transmitter the signal is intercepted and so the machine passes under different control. But here it is important to note that just one bit changes in the program, and things become different. I.e. these systems are harmless to say the least.
- What do the programs embedded in the drones contain?
- Many things. But one more important thing. All drone manufacturers include in their programs coordinates of infrastructure objects over which drones cannot be used. Airports are part of these prohibited zones. For example, in such a prohibited zone, you cannot gain a height that would allow you to let the drone ballistically crash into a nuclear power plant, for example.
- Then how did the drone at the “Sofia“ Airport fly in the airport area?
- It was modified so that it could move in this zone. These prohibitions have been removed. Someone “played“.
- And let's talk about the third type of anti-drone protection…
- The third type is the physical shooting down of the drone. But I want to insert here that such a drone, with these parameters, can be assembled at home, literally in a garage. In Bulgaria, there are very serious companies, with an established and completely legitimate place on the national and global market, which produce drones with a range of more than 1000 kilometers and a payload of much more than 30 kilograms.
- How are other airports in the European Union protected?
- Like ours - practically not at all. Do you remember a few years ago there was an incident with a drone at Gatwick Airport in the UK. What was understood then - that the British army and security forces are frankly helpless. I expect and see - without any element of surprise, that this is also the case in our country. And this is where the role of anti-drone systems comes in. In Bulgaria, as I said, there are more than 10 companies that are significantly ahead in this matter and even combine developments for the physical destruction of drones. In Sofia, destruction is almost inapplicable, because the airport is almost in the city center. So the physical destruction of the drones is not the best solution in our case.
- And so we come to the issue of ensuring the security of airports in our country… What should be done?
- I will make a small correction. Airports are a small part of the infrastructure sites that must be protected. Protection from drones should be a state policy, because on the territory of the country we have critical infrastructure, which includes over 200 sites. We are talking about road facilities, thermal power plants, dams, the nuclear power plant, military sites, our border with Turkey, because this is an external border of the EU ..... And seeing what a small budget is being commented on for the “Border Police“ for protecting the border???? This shows a deficit in understanding the seriousness of drone attacks. Because when we talk about drones, this is a classic case of the so-called an asymmetric threat. What do I mean? We have a drone for 1000-2000 leva, which can shoot down a plane with 300 passengers. With 2000 leva you shoot down a plane for hundreds of millions and ruin hundreds of lives!? You understand how asymmetric this is, right? If this plane, let's take Sofia Airport, which is within the city, is damaged by a drone, where will it fall!? In the city, in residential areas. Then how many victims will there be? The problem is very serious, but in our country (not only) this problem has been underestimated so far. Nowadays, anti-drone systems, anti-drone protection are not a luxury, but a necessity. And not only one company X should be involved in this work, but many companies should be brought together. There is something to be borrowed from companies from the USA, Canada, Germany, Israel in this field. People in other countries work hard because they understand that these are serious things. I also doubt that Sofia Airport was able to detect this drone with the available radar equipment.
- Information has emerged that it was spotted visually…
- It must be because our airport, and many others in the EU, are not equipped with drone radars. The radars used at airports do not detect drones. To intercept a drone, special equipment, special radars are required, and they are expensive. So the issue of drones is very serious, complex, and its solution requires complex measures and, above all, resources - financial, material and human.