Counter-UAS: Karner, Tanner and Leichtfried present the working group's interim report

Counter-UAS was the focus of a press statement on 24 September: Gerhard Karner (Interior Minister), Klaudia Tanner (Defence Minister) and Jörg Leichtfried (State Secretary) presented the findings of the drone defence working group's current interim report.

The infrastructure and economics ministries are also involved, they said, hence a jointly operated drone situation centre now exists. A larger-scale drone exercise is also scheduled for this year.

Counter-UAS by critical infrastructure operators

Operators of critical infrastructure – large energy companies, for instance – are in future to be allowed to counter drones the company itself has detected if the threat situation warrants it. The Telecommunications Act will be amended for this, Interior Minister Karner announced.

This issue has occupied us for almost ten years, and of course the number, technology and threat of drones have increased – so it was necessary to set up this working group. A final report is due by year-end.— Interior Minister Gerhard Karner

Defence Minister Tanner also underlined that both the working group and involving industry in drone defence are important:

We see that much is changing, and it is therefore necessary to act across ministries and also to make legal adaptations.— Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner

For a suitable defence against such threats we need not only intelligently acting authorities but also the necessary legal framework.— State Secretary Jörg Leichtfried