Unmanned aerial vehicle as a device supporting the physical protection system of critical infrastructure facilities: nuclear power plant as a case in point

The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of unmanned aerial vehicles as devices supporting the system of physical protection of critical infrastructure facilities using the example of a nuclear power plant. This paper contains information on the reasons for the construction of a nuclear power plant in the era of economic development of the Polish state. The legal requirements consisting of the analysis of the risk of terrorist threats for the facility was indicated. One of the sources of danger is unmanned aircraft or flying models increasingly used in the airspace. Furthermore, this paper presents legal rules and principles according to which missions of unmanned aerial vehicles or flying models are performed. The current regulations allow the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as devices supporting physical security systems at facilities. This study showed that although the use of unmanned aircraft for the purpose of increasing the security level of critical infrastructure facilities has some limitations, however, the possibilities arising from their usefulness are the decisive advantage of the need to implement drone technology in security.