MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan Congressman wants Air Force cleared to shoot down threatening aircraft

Congressman Rubín based his project on similar laws already existing in Brazil and Colombia

Paraguayan Congressman Rubén Rubín submitted a bill to Parliament whereby the Air Force could shoot down any aircraft posing a threat to national security. The proposal seeks to expand Law No. 6980/2022 on airspace protection, adding a “Phase III” to existing protocols, which would allow shooting down hostile aircraft as a last resort.

Currently, the law only permits interception and warning shots. The proposed Phase III would require presidential approval and would only be enacted when an aircraft poses an imminent and severe threat, it was explained. The legislation is inspired by similar laws in Brazil and Colombia.

The proposal seeks to “provide the Paraguayan Air Force with the necessary tools to protect airspace and national sovereignty”, especially in the face of threats such as drug trafficking, arms, and other illicit cross-border activities,“ the bill states.

The current law establishes two phases: ”interception and visual identification of the aircraft“ and ”warnings and dissuasive shots“; protocol to which the present project adds the ”shoot down of the aircraft as a last resort.“

However, Phase III would require the express approval of the President as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and would only proceed when all previous measures have been exhausted and there is ”reasonable evidence“ that the aircraft represents an imminent and serious threat.

The proposal also contemplates the creation of a ”Quadruple Command for Air and Border Defense” (CCDAF), integrated by Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia to coordinate efforts in the surveillance and protection of the shared airspace.

The project also includes the implementation of a rapid response protocol known as “Quick Reaction Alert” (QRA), which would establish a maximum time of 15 minutes to intercept air threats, reducible to 7 minutes in critical situations.

Phase III means shooting down a civil or military aircraft, drones and other types of aircraft, manned or unmanned, which, after having been intercepted in Phases I and II, continue to represents an imminent and serious threat to national security, territorial integrity, or the lives of people in the air and on the ground.