Fury as British soldiers BANNED from flying drones over people in training due to health and safety rules
WORLD FLOOR 3 Fury as British soldiers BANNED from flying drones over people in training due to health and safety rules
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SOLDIERS have been banned from flying drones over people during training due to health and safety rules.
The strict regulations mean troops may be ill-prepared for modern warfare, experts have warned.
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Soldiers training on Salisbury Plain, Wilts, have been barred from flying pilotless aircraft weighing similar to a packet of biscuits over colleagues' heads — even if they are sitting in a tank.
Troops had to file multiple requests just to fly a drone over an empty tank, soldiers told the House of Commons.
Soldiers gearing up for possible conflict with Russia are also barred from using signal jammers or practising other electronic warfare in case they breach data collection rules by intercepting information or set off local residents' devices.
Defence chiefs insist the rules are there to protect people.
But MPs say the red tape is actually putting lives at risk.
Labour MP Fred Thomas told the Financial Times: 'British soldiers who are deploying as part of a deterrence force to places like Estonia and eastern Europe are going without the kind of training and capability that is completely bog-standard in warfare now, whether it is in the Middle East or Ukraine.'
Ukraine says drones account for up to 80 per cent of casualties.
The Ministry of Defence admitted there are restrictions, but claimed data rules are not directly stopping training.
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