Legal and technical methods of protecting critical infrastructure facilities against threats from unmanned aerial vehicles – the Polish example

The aim of this article is to discuss the legal changes introduced in Poland in response to the growing threat to critical infrastructure facilities from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and to present a recommended method for assessing the effectiveness of UAV detection and neutralisation systems developed by the Government Centre for Security (RCB). The authors discuss the amendment of the Act of 3 July 2002 – Aviation Law, which includes provisions relevant to the safety of unmanned platform flights, ensuring that operators of critical infrastructure have the right to defend the protected facility against attacks using unmanned aircraft, and the amendment of the Act of 24 May 2013 on direct coercive measures and firearms, which expanded the catalogue of direct coercive measures to include the destruction or immobilisation of UAV or the seizure of control over its flight, and indicated the means of its neutralisation.