On the morning of November 27, with 100% (449/449) of National Assembly delegates present voting in favor, the National Assembly passed the Law on People's Air Defense.
At the meeting, Lieutenant General Le Tan Toi - Chairman of the National Assembly's Defense and Security Committee presented a report explaining, accepting and revising the draft Law on People's Air Defense.
According to Lieutenant General Le Tan Toi, there are suggestions to consider regulations on licensing the export of drones and other flying vehicles (PTB) to have an open export policy for this field in the coming time; review and strictly regulate the authority, and unify the content of the provisions.
Based on the opinions of delegates, in the process of receiving and revising the draft law, the National Assembly Standing Committee removed the regulation that the Ministry of Industry and Trade grants export licenses for PTB.
However, for PTB serving national defense and security tasks, it is still necessary to stipulate that the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security grant export and import licenses to ensure requirements on military secrets and security secrets, and are regulated by the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Public Security.
At the same time, to ensure strictness, unity and convenience in implementation, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly has clearly defined the authority of the Minister of National Defense, the Minister of Public Security and the Government regarding import, export, temporary import for re-export, temporary export for re-import of PTB.
Regarding the issuance of flight permits for PTBs, Chairman Le Tan Toi said that there were suggestions that it is necessary to determine the average distance of visual vision for a normal person with the naked eye in order to have more strict, clear, and specific regulations.
Regarding this issue, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly stated that, through research, an aircraft with a take-off weight of less than 0.25 kg is an ultra-small aircraft, with a maximum actual flight altitude of no more than 50 meters, a maximum flight speed of no more than 40 km/h, and a radio transmitter that meets short-range technical requirements using low power. It is a hand-controlled aircraft, mainly serving entertainment purposes.
The authority to grant flight permits is prescribed as follows:
- The Ministry of National Defense issues flight permits or delegates the authority to issue flight permits to units under its authority, except for the case specified in Point b of this Clause.
- The Ministry of Public Security shall grant flight permits or delegate authority to units under its authority to grant flight permits to PTBs of the Ministry of Public Security and notify the Ministry of National Defense for coordinated management. In case of granting flight permits in prohibited or restricted flight areas and other areas that affect the flight operations of military aircraft, the consent of the Ministry of National Defense is required.
- In case the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security grants a flight permit in the area of an airport, airfield and other areas that affect the flight activities of civil aircraft, it must have the consent of the Ministry of Transport.
PTB in one of the following cases is exempt from flight license:
- Operating outside prohibited and restricted flight areas; operating within visual range; with a maximum take-off weight of less than 0.25 kg for entertainment purposes;
- Operate in emergency situations to protect the lives and property of organizations and individuals according to the decision of competent authorities but must notify the aviation management agency before flying.
