Prague, April 26 (CTK) – The Czech police are planning the creation of a new unit whose members will use drones, while bases for the unmanned aerial vehicles may be formed in Prague, Brno, Ostrava, north Moravia, and Ceske Budejovice, south Bohemia, in the next two years, under a report the government will decide on.
The police also want to enhance the security of presidential seats, which are the Prague Castle and the chateau in Lany, central Bohemia.
The total costs of the establishment of the unit, the purchase of its equipment, protection elements and the salaries of new police will be about 160 million crowns by the end of 2019, the report said.
The police are to help the ground units and piloted helicopters.
The UAVs are to help find missing persons in a difficult terrain, in the sphere of remote sensing, the documentation of the situations within security measures and fires, industrial accidents, elemental disasters, bomb disposal reconnaissance and protection of the state border.
The police will also use the drones on the basis of the drafted agreement between the police, the interior and transport ministries and the Civil Aviation Authority.
At present, the police have 12 drones. Another eight are to be purchased for a special unit that are to have a system of ciphered transmission of image and sound and should be resistant to jamming.
The costs of the purchase of the drones, their maintenance, repairs and equipment of police specialists are estimated at 43 million crowns, while some more money will be needed for the salaries of newly recruited police.
The new unit is to be administered by the aviation service. In all, it is to have 28 members. The first ten are to be recruited by the end of this year.
The first base is to be prepared in Prague next year at the latest, while the rest are to be formed by the second half of 2018.
The Czech police do not have any special equipment able to detect or destroy a drone.
Until 2020, the body wants to take part in the testing and development of the system able to intercept suspicious UAVs.
($1 = 24.580 crowns)
pv/dr/rtj
