In Uzbekistan, police officers have started using drones

In Uzbekistan, police officers have started using drones to prevent and detect crimes, “Gazeta.uz” reports, citing Rahimjon Naimov, the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Crime Prevention Service.

The first region to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles was Bukhara. Following the president’s instructions, the regional administration purchased 150 drones. Currently, they are supplied to 84 law enforcement agencies across five regions, and the consideration of additional procurement is ongoing.

By the end of 2026, it is planned to equip all district and city subdivisions fully with unmanned aerial vehicles. Drones will mainly be used to prevent offences in areas with complex criminogenic situations, to detect petty hooliganism, environmental violations, and drug-related offences.

“Not all employees can operate drones. Senior prevention inspectors go through training in stages. Currently, inspectors have been trained in the Bukhara and Fergana regions. They can only operate drones after receiving a certificate”, — said Rakhimjon Naimov.

Earlier, it was reported that Uzbekistanis would be taught to operate drones at school. Additionally, competitions in esports and robotics are planned for schoolchildren.