Law Enforcement Agencies' Repression of the Unlawful Use of Unmanned Aircrafts

Kashirskiy Dmitriy Yurievich PhD in Technical Science Associate Professor at the Department of Information Science and Special Equipment of Barnaul Juridical Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 656010, Russia, Altaiskii krai, g. Barnaul, ul. Gorno-Altaiskaya, 21, kv. 174 dimka_kash@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Sukhomlinov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Cadet, Faculty of Training of Police Officers and Investigators, Barnaul Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 656052, Russia, Altaiskii krai, g. Barnaul, ul. Chkalova, 49 dimka_kash@mail.ru

At the present stage of development of society and the world as a whole, there is a revolutionary development of telecommunications, digital economy, and digital technologies. All this is the result of technological progress, which at this time occupies a very large place in the retrospective of public life. It is worth noting that in addition to the positive characteristics of technological progress, there are also negative consequences that are reflected in the activities of the penal system. Undoubtedly, this process is a huge step in the development of society, but, unfortunately, there are negative aspects of the use of technological "novelty", which are adversely reflected in various fields of activity. An example of such a negative impact can be the availability in the selection, and in the future, the use of unmanned aircraft, which, among other things, can be used by individuals in the preparation and commission of various crimes.

The legal definition of an unmanned aerial vehicle is contained in the Air Code of the Russian Federation. At the same time, in the document under consideration, the legislator operates primarily with the concept of "aircraft", which means an aircraft maintained in the atmosphere due to interaction with air, other than interaction with air reflected from the surface of the earth or water (paragraph 1 of Article 32 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation). An unmanned aircraft (UAV) is an aircraft controlled and controlled in flight by a pilot who is outside of such an aircraft (an external pilot) (paragraph 5 of Article 32 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation). Federal Rules for the Use of the Airspace of the Russian Federation, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 138 dated 11.03.2010 stipulates that the visual flight of an unmanned aircraft is the flight of an unmanned aircraft, during which its external pilot maintains direct non-selective visual contact with this aircraft (paragraph 11, paragraph 2 of the Rules for the Use of Airspace). In GOST R 56122-2014, an unmanned aircraft is defined as an aircraft that is designed to fly without a pilot on board. The UAV is classified by GOST as an unmanned aircraft – an aircraft that is designed to fly without a pilot on board (clause 2.1.4 "GOST R 56122-2014. National Standard of the Russian Federation. Air transport. Unmanned aircraft systems. General requirements", hereinafter - GOST R 56122-2014, approved and put into effect by Rosstandart Order No. 1130-st dated 18.09.2014).

The fact that an attacker can get a UAV comes from the absence of serious legal restrictions in the acquisition and use of UAVs, as well as their financial availability ^[4].

Due to the use of UAVs for criminal purposes, as well as the danger of their use, the global problem and task of our time is to effectively combat such uncontrolled use ^{[2, 6]}.

It is worth noting that different countries use different means of combating UAVs (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicle (obsolete term)) to prevent negative consequences from their use.

For example, in Switzerland, this is the Skynex system, which is one of the novelties in the world of short-range anti-aircraft systems. It is being created by Rheinmetall Air Defense. The system was first introduced in 2016. Its core is the 35 mm automatic gun Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 with a rate of fire of a thousand rounds per minute, which uses special "programmable" ammunition. With the help of the Skynex system, it is possible to hit targets at a distance of up to 4 km, which include aircraft, helicopters, AGM-88 HARM missiles or anti-ship missiles and unmanned aircraft. The growing use of drones in modern wars and conflicts has forced the armies of the world to look for cheap and affordable ways to combat drones. The presented system is one of such methods.

The programmable ammunition AHEAD detonates at a strictly defined distance. With the help of a rangefinder, the distance to the target is determined, after which the ammunition is set to self-destruct at a given distance. The anti-aircraft system with a reserve of 252 ammunition and a radar is located in a remotely controlled module that can be mounted on the chassis of an armored personnel carrier or truck. A marine version of the system can be installed on ships.

Rheinmetall Air Defense showed in 2016 the option of installing a 30 kW laser on one tower. According to the company, this decision may be the next step in the process of developing methods and means of combating unmanned aircraft ^[7].

Ukraine, in turn, has purchased anti-drone rifles from NATO to combat Russian unmanned aircraft. This was announced by the Minister of Defense Alexey Rezkniov on the air of the program The Right to Vlad on the channel "1 + 1".

The Minister noted that NATO has an NSPA procurement system – conditionally it can be called the "NATO version of Amazon". "We have already passed several tests today. We paid the money, passed all the checks to purchase some of the things we need through the NSPA in NATO," Reznikov said. According to him, during this month Ukraine will receive the first batch – 10 Lithuanian-made anti-drone guns, which will help fight Russian UAVs. Reznikov also said that he intends to create two similar NSPA agencies under the Ministry of Defense in the near future: one will deal with logistics and procurement, the second with weapons. He also announced the removal of secrecy from some public procurement in the defense sector, but plans to consult with experts on what exactly is subject to declassification ^[5].

The market of protection systems against oncoming UAVS is classified as follows. By type: detection systems; detection and destruction systems. By geographical location: North America; Asia-Pacific region; Europe; South America; International Energy Agency.

The society's support for the development of measures to counter MENA is defined as one of the main reasons stimulating the growth of the market of MENA protection systems over the next few years ^[5].

A collision with a man of an ordinary UAV weighing 1.5-2 kg, flying at a speed of fifty kilometers per hour, is extremely dangerous, in the case when the UAV is controlled by an unqualified external pilot. On social networks, you can easily find a lot of videos on this topic. For example, in 2017 in Japan, an out-of-control UAV injured six people ^[8]. However, all over the world, MENA regularly appear over streets filled with people, tourist and other objects, such as the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame in France, the Colosseum in Italy, the White House in the USA, etc.

As for the territory of the Russian Federation, work is actively underway to counter unregistered unmanned aircraft. Thus, the owners of such devices have been repeatedly detained for attempts to launch them over the Kremlin and in crowded places. A large number of UAVs can be explained by the desire of citizens using such UAVs to get exclusive shots, forcing them to fly in unacceptable proximity to the subject of the shooting. There are a number of cases of UAV damage to world-famous buildings, such as the Milan Cathedral, the Sydney Opera House or a skyscraper in Taipei. There are cases of unsuccessful use of UAVs at events inside buildings with injury to visitors. Of particular concern are flights near airports and over specially protected objects, where they are legally prohibited, namely: nuclear power plants, dams, military bases, fuel and energy complex enterprises, etc.

Getting into vulnerable places of UAV enterprises can initiate man-made accidents and fires in hazardous industries. In 2015, a drone left thousands of residents in Los Angeles without electricity, causing a short circuit of the power line ^[1].

Greenpeace activists sent an unmanned aerial vehicle in the form of a "Superman" to the territory of the French nuclear power plant "Bugey" in order to prove its vulnerability.

It would seem that the buildings of the stations are built so that they withstand the impact of an airplane, but in fact the consequences can be serious, since the owners of the drone may have the layout of the most sensitive elements of the NPP.

UAVs pose a real threat to air traffic and aviation security, which should be understood as a state of the aviation system in which the risks associated with the operation of aircraft or directly supporting them are reduced and controlled to an acceptable level. The work of major airports (Frankfurt, Gatwick, etc.) has been suspended more than once due to the appearance of unidentified drones. For example, in Germany in 2018, they were spotted by air traffic services in restricted areas of airports 158 times, which is twice as much as in the previous year.

Considering all these examples of UAV threats, it should be noted that one of the serious problems of using UAVs is that there are cases when pilots of civil and military aircraft, most often during landing, observed unidentified aircraft that flashed near UAVs and could not be identified due to their small size and short time observations, and in two cases, UAV hits were recorded in the structural elements.

A collision with a UAV creates a serious danger for large aircraft, since unmanned aircraft can get into the engine or break through the cockpit glazing, which can lead to an airplane crash.

One of the effective ways to counter such UAVs is to place special equipment around airports in order to forcibly land drones that have penetrated into the forbidden territory for them. However, today in Russia there are no special units and facilities at airfields to combat intruder drones, and there are also no mechanisms for legislative regulation in this area. This issue should be initially worked out at the legislative level and only after that create such units, conduct their training and purchase special systems for the confrontation of MENA.

The use of unregistered UAVs is also a problematic aspect in the activities of rescue units and firefighters. Unauthorized flights of drones (most often belonging to various media) during photo and video filming of natural disasters pose a danger to all aviation fire extinguishing equipment and create unintended interference in the control channels of the UAVs used in the interests of emergency response units.

One of the effective ways to solve this problem, first of all, is to coordinate the issue of the use of UAVs by media representatives and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the aftermath of accidents and catastrophes, as well as the publication of a regulatory legal act regulating the procedure for such interaction.

Another relevant and problematic area of illegal use of UAVS is the sphere of criminal activity. Criminals were among the first to adopt new technologies and have long appreciated the benefits provided by the MENA. For example, the "Sicilian mafia" organized its own research a quarter of a century ago to find ways to deliver explosive devices by air.

The number of crimes involving the use of UAV is growing rapidly. So, in England, in 2020 alone, the increase in crimes using UAVS amounted to 352% ^[3]. The main types of crimes include: delivery of prohibited drugs and means of communication to correctional institutions, drug smuggling, surveillance of objects for committing crimes and police actions, filming someone else's private life day and night, including in the infrared range.

More recently, it became known about the use of UAVs for solving hacker tasks. Such UAVs are packed with electronics that allow you to intercept GSM and Wi-Fi network signals. The system is able to simulate a cellular base station, taking over all subscriber traffic. Similarly, the possibility of interception of control and re-targeting of foreign UAVS delivering valuable cargo is provided.

The greatest danger is the use of UAVs for terrorist purposes. Even commercially available models become quite a tangible danger to society, since a relatively small serial device can cause significant damage as a means of group or mass destruction in crowded places. German intelligence services have identified a whole network of Islamic terrorists who were preparing attacks using homemade UAVs. As a result of the special operation, technical means, materials and drawings were confiscated.

Rendering effective counteraction to MENA is problematic today. There are many technical solutions to this problem, but the low level of training of specialists and high costs for the purchase of expensive equipment do not yet allow us to stop all illegal UAV flights in prohibited areas. The exception is, perhaps, only the most vulnerable enterprises and events held at the state level.

Thus, the problems of countering MENA can be divided into three main groups. The first group of problems should include the UAV itself as a material object moving at high speed, having a large mass and density, posing a danger to people in crowded places. The second group includes the problems of using standard means of countering UAVs, surveillance and advanced electronic and network means of forced landing, as well as the possibility of training specialists who use these means in practice. The third group of problems includes the problems of countering illegal cargo delivered by the UAV, weapons and means of group and mass destruction.

If we consider the degree of danger of UAVs in peacetime by their affiliation (purpose), then the least dangerous, paradoxically, can be considered the apparatus of law enforcement agencies (MO, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Rosgvardiya, FSB, etc.).

This is due to the operation of only serial copies of UAVs that have passed state acceptance, the presence of strict rules and clear regulations on all issues of accounting, storage, preparation for flights and post-flight maintenance of UAVs, proven training methods for maintenance personnel, including external pilots, staffing of units, constant monitoring of their actions. The probability of accidents related to aircraft failures and pilot errors is low.

This probability is somewhat higher in the segment of industrial and commercial UAVs. This is due to the frequent execution of calculations of tasks in isolation from the main base and, as a result, possible deviations from the rules of preparation and execution of flights established in the organization. As a rule, the larger the organization operating the UAV, the higher the degree of flight safety. Such organizations operate mass-produced devices, their activities are monitored.

Currently, the most dangerous for society are UAVs purchased and launched as a hobby or for the provision of small services, for example, video filming of festive events. The number of them is large, and the technical condition, discipline and level of training of operators remains at a low level or is absent altogether.

Initially, it was planned to conduct minimal training and testing of external pilots for flight readiness when registering a UAV, but such requirements are not legally fixed and have not been implemented.

From our point of view, such training is an effective way to solve problems with the use of MENA by citizens, but these organizations that conduct training must be registered in accordance with the established procedure, and specialists who carry out training must have the appropriate permission and the right to issue certificates ^[9].

Summing up, it should be noted that approaches to countering MENA in different countries differ in the specifics of legislative regulation. In some, their acquisition and operation are completely prohibited, in others, restrictions are only with the use of. In Russia, many draft laws have recently been developed and amendments are being made to the current legislation regulating the performance of UAV flights, which defines the procedure for their registration and obtaining permission to fly within visual visibility at altitudes up to 150 meters. The mass of the UAV is separately prescribed (no more than 30 kg)  to perform flights according to simplified rules. Registration after purchase is mandatory, but voluntary. This procedure cannot be performed online, only in writing, which takes a lot of time. There is also an administrative responsibility for the use of the UAV, namely a fine when detecting the launch of an unregistered device.

In order to effectively solve the problems of countering MENA, it is necessary:

1. Adopt amendments taking into account the specifics of UAV flights of various categories in a number of aviation documents. The amendments should ensure not only accident-free airspace, but also the rights and safety of citizens and their property on the ground.

2. To strengthen control and legislatively expand the rights of employees of internal affairs bodies to stop UAV flights, up to their destruction, as well as to increase the amount of fines in multiple amounts.

3. Organize special training of employees of internal affairs bodies, taking into account international experience in countering MENA.

4. To develop an algorithm of actions of employees of the internal affairs bodies to counteract the MENA and to put into service effective counteraction systems using foreign experience. The developed algorithm of actions is proposed to be initially used as methodological recommendations in practical activities, and after testing, make adjustments and prescribe in departmental orders as a procedure for countering MENA.