Central Asian and Caucasus states discuss protecting civil aviation from drones

Kyrgyzstan and seven other Central Asian and Caucasus countries discussed joint measures to protect civil aviation from drone threats and risks to flights near armed conflict zones. According to the State Civil Aviation Agency of Kyrgyzstan (GAGA), the states intend to strengthen cooperation on aviation security.

The issues were considered on October 19 in Astana at a meeting of the aviation security coordination group, held within the Aviation Security Week of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Aviation authorities from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia took part, with Russia attending as an observer.

Participants discussed risk assessments for civil aircraft, drone threats, detection of improvised explosive devices and operational information sharing. Particular attention was paid to preparing for ICAO audits and correcting identified shortcomings. Results will be presented on October 22 at the ninth "Path to HLCAS/3" session, ahead of ICAO's third high-level aviation security conference planned for 2027.