Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the Protection of the Elements of a Country’s Critical Infrastructure – Selected Directions of Development

This paper explores the directions for the application of unmanned aerial vehicles in the provision of security to vital elements of a country’s critical infrastructure. The analysis focuses on two paths of development: the first one refers to the transportation system, the latter is related to the gas supply network – the basic components of a country’s critical infrastructure. The first section of this paper will examine the current state of knowledge in the field, and is designed as a reference of terminology pertaining to unmanned aerial vehicles (defi nitions and classifi cation). The section shall furthermore provide a basis for and a contribution to the developed conceptual-semantic framework for UAV research. The fi rst direction of development is described in terms of the characteristics and assumptions of the system; this includes an overview of the specific requirements of the unmanned platform itself, as well as the elements of the system, such as a local monitoring centre and other components. Furthermore, this section provides the overview of the designated mobile application, whose development is expected to improve the effi ciency of system operation, which is a conceptual novelty considering similar developments. The second direction concerns the development of an unmanned system of production, storage, and use of chemical and radioactive substances, including pipelines for hazardous substances. The programme that fits perfectly in the framework of the second considered branch of development is “Cricket” [Polish: “Świerszcz”] – a programme implemented in the periodic inspection of gas supply infrastructure. The description of the programme in question included specifying the technical and operational requirements for the fight devices as well as for the equipment.