Driving test for drones
Push to teach ‘pilots’ about safety in the air
EVERYONE who owns or buys a drone will have to sit a driving theory test for them, the Government will announce today.
Ministers are worried there could be a major accident after a sharp rise in the number of near misses between drones and aircraft.
Under the plans it will be illegal to own a drone without registering personal details such as your name and address online.
Individuals will also have to take a ‘safety awareness test’, answering questions on existing rules.
These include always keeping your drone in sight and not flying it above 400 feet (120 metres).
It is not yet clear whether new buyers will have to take the test and register before they are allowed to take it home. Nor is it clear how those who already own a drone will be made to register their device and take the test.
However, it is hoped the new measures will help authorities catch drone pilots breaking the law. Currently it is almost impossible to trace a gadget spotted flying in restricted airspace.
The Government will also expand the use of ‘geo-fencing’ technology, which effectively builds invisible shields around vital buildings such as power stations.
Like mobile phones, many drones have GPs technology. Under the plans, a national database will be set up including the coordinates of no-fly zones so that manufacturers can update their software and place restrictions on the aircraft in the factory.
The Government has stressed the tougher rules are not aimed at small children flying light plastic drones sold in many toy shops.
Instead, the restrictions apply to owners of drones weighing 250g – the same as a pack of butter.
Concerns that a mid-air collision between a drone and an aircraft could occur have been fuelled by scores of near misses.
While many drones available on the high street are too light to be affected by the regulation, the Government, which is exploring the best legislative options for introducing the rules, said it chose the weight after a study that found that it would take a drone weigh- ing 400g to damage the windscreen of a helicopter.
Aviation minister Lord Callanan claimed the new rules will strike a balance between taking advantage of the benefits of drones while minimising their misuse.
He said: ‘Our measures prioritise protecting the public while maximising the full potential of drones. By registering drones and introducing safety awareness tests to educate users, we can reduce the inadvertent breaching of airspace restrictions to protect the public.’
Pilots have long warned a ‘disaster’ is inevitable unless tougher laws are introduced. The number of near misses between drones and aircraft has more than doubled since 2015, with more than one occurring each week.
Latest statistics from the UK Airprox Board – which monitors the threat of mid-air collisions – show there were 33 near misses between drones and aircraft in the first five months of the year.
Last year there were 70 near misses, more than double the 29 recorded in 2015. Investigators have found that some drone operators are flying their devices as close as possible to planes to record spectacular videos.
BRITISH troops targeted by drones in Afghanistan are being protected by a new weapon that uses radio waves to zap the unmanned aircraft out of the sky.
Dozens of drones have been sent over a base which is home to UK and US soldiers carrying out a security mission in the capital Kabul.
So far the drones, of the type that can be bought easily online, have only been used to spy on the troops.
But it is feared they could be adapted to carry explosives – a tactic already being used by Islamic State in Iraq.
When the drones in Afghanistan are spotted over the New Kabul Compound they are disabled by US soldiers using the AR-15 Drone Defender, which looks like a rifle with an antenna mechanism to the front and has a range of more By Larisa Brown Defence and Security Editor than 1,300ft. Instead of firing bullets, its radio waves disrupt the signal controlling the drones, forcing them to fall to the ground.
Major Paul Martin, of the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, said there had been 68 drone sightings in the past two years over the Kabul compound where a total of 150 British troops are based.
It is not clear, however, if the drones are being sent by civilians or insurgents.
The regiment’s commanding officer, Lt Col Graham Shannon, said: ‘They could be rich kids or they could be the bad guys.’
There are several Drone Defenders on the base which US soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division are trained to use.
UK troops have other defence mechanisms but were not able to share the details for security reasons. Sergeant Major David Dyess, a US marine on the base, said in reference to Islamic State’s use of drones in Iraq: ‘It starts in one place and eventually migrates. Drones with bombs will be coming here in the next couple of months.’
Major Paddy Pratt, the UK chief of operations for the Kabul Security Force, said: ‘We’ve had multiple sightings of drones and we’ve developed a counter drone strategy. If and when there is a sighting they would then deploy the Defender to try to engage the drone.’
He added: ‘ They are readily available across the world. We are aware of it, we are well equipped to be able to counter it.
‘There is a suggestion it could (be the enemy), or it could be grown men who receive the drone as a present.’
Islamic State started using camera drones armed with grenades in Iraq to blast Iraqi forces and target refugees trying to flee Mosul.
The drones carry enough explosive to kill or injure within a 16ft radius, according to experts.
RAF pilots were tasked with hunting down the weaponised devices amid fears they could be used to find the locations of UK troops and target them.