The Slovak Ministry of the Interior has begun establishing a national airspace monitoring network. In response to complaints from residents about low-altitude and suspicious drone flights over residential areas, the ministry has installed the first two specialized stations: one began operating on Štefánikova Street in Bratislava, and the other on the grounds of an elementary school in the village of Rovinka.
How the new detection system works
The technology is based on the Remote ID platform, which automatically identifies drones that transmit a corresponding identification signal. Law enforcement agencies and the police can track the route, altitude, and exact location of such devices in real time.
The system also sends instant alerts if a drone approaches or crosses the boundaries of restricted zones or critical infrastructure. This allows for a rapid response to potential threats to public safety or residents’ privacy.
How Much Was Spent from the State Budget
The ministry allocated a total of 55,087.67 euros (including VAT) from the state budget for the pilot project. With these funds, the agency purchased ten specialized detection antennas and a single software package:
- Each of the ten detection antennas purchased cost 2,546.58 euros (including VAT).
- The central integration software cost 29,621.87 euros (including VAT).
The main advantage of the chosen architecture is that there will be no need to purchase expensive central software in the future. The platform is designed to connect an unlimited number of additional antennas, which will allow for the deployment of similar monitoring systems in other regions of the country.
What This Means for Residents
Although the installation of detectors does not mean the immediate physical neutralization or interception of devices in flight, it gives the police the legal tools to identify violators. In residential areas, such as the outskirts of the capital, where private homes and yards have recently suffered increasingly frequent invasions of privacy, law enforcement will now be able to detect unauthorized flights more quickly.
According to the ministry, this is only the first stage in building a comprehensive, multi-level system to protect Slovak airspace from the illegal use of drones, as reported by Bratislava247.
