Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry is developing a new aerial surveillance strategy to boost border security and counter-terrorism capabilities, Interior Minister Daniel Mitov said on Thursday.
Responding to a parliamentary question from MP Ivaylo Mirchev, Mitov told lawmakers that the strategy includes the purchase of additional drones for the Border Police and for the ministry’s specialized counter-terrorism unit. His remarks were published on the National Assembly’s official website.
Several Interior Ministry departments currently operate drones, including the general directorates for Border Police, National Police, Gendarmerie, Special Operations and Counter-Terrorism, Fire Safety and Civil Protection, as well as organized crime units. Regional and metropolitan directorates also use aerial technology.
The drones are deployed for search and rescue missions, locating missing persons, police operations, monitoring wildfires, and managing road traffic, Mitov said.
In April, the government approved amendments to the Civil Aviation Act after a drone was spotted near Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport. The revisions ban unauthorized drone flights in restricted areas, including around airports, and introduce procedures for forcing down or removing drones that breach the rules.
Mitov also said last month that the Border Police will acquire a radar system to neutralize unauthorized drones.
