According to Keit Kasemets, Wednesday's incident — in which a drone that strayed from Russia into Estonia struck the chimney of the Auvere Power Plant — demonstrated that unmanned aerial vehicles, along with the risks and threats associated with them, require more flexible intervention measures than currently exist.

"The current legal framework is not sufficient to prevent and counter threats originating from the airspace as it was primarily designed for manned aircraft. We have therefore reviewed existing competencies and redistributed them or established new roles," said Keit Kasemets.

For example, the draft would allow the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) to better detect and counter drones used for military purposes, while giving the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) more effective tools to prevent crime and protect people's lives and health.

The draft also regulates threat detection. Responsibility for airspace surveillance would lie with the Defense Forces and agencies would be required to share their data to create a unified situational picture.

The Police and Border Guard Board would increasingly become a so-called "drone police," with the authority to counter unmanned aerial vehicles across all of Estonia, regardless of location. The police, security agencies and guards of national defense sites would gain the right to use radio signal jammers in counter-drone operations.

The draft would also make it possible to involve the EDF and the Estonian Defense League in counter-drone activities during large public events such as the Song Festival.

The use of drones, balloons and other unmanned aerial vehicles has grown rapidly in recent years. Their use has particularly increased in the civilian sector and the war in Ukraine shows that their use is also rising in crime, surveillance and military attacks.

If adopted by the Riigikogu, the draft is expected to enter into force on July 1.

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