7.
KEY STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS FOR BREAKTHROUGH DEVELOPMENT OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS IN RUSSIA
The successful development of the unmanned aviation industry in Russia is inextricably linked to active government support aimed at both producers of unmanned systems, components, software, and related services, as well as consumers—namely, operators of UAS and the services they provide.
The Unmanned Aerial Systems Development Strategy adopted by the Russian Federation sets forth that by 2030, more than 180,000 UAS units will be deployed in the domestic market, with the figure expected to reach approximately 200,000 units by 2035. In monetary terms, these volumes are estimated at 200 billion rubles by 2030 and over 220 billion rubles by 2035, respectively [2].
For the successful advancement of unmanned systems applications, it is essential not only to develop hardware and software solutions, but also to establish a comprehensive infrastructure. This includes flight safety control systems, allocated radio frequencies, information support, as well as an adequate regulatory framework that governs unmanned aviation at the legislative level [57].
The strategy involves the systematization and scaling of production. It is planned to nearly double the volume of the Russian market for heavy and medium unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by 2030, based on the establishment of an industrial foundation for software, infrastructure, demand support from governmental agencies, regions, and state-owned companies, as well as the development of relevant scientific and technological competencies, design, and domestic engineering schools [44].
According to the Strategy, the key challenges in the unmanned aerial systems market include:
• Imperfections in the regulatory and technical legal framework;
• Insufficiently developed testing infrastructure, low readiness level of technologies, and warning systems necessary for the integration of UAS into the unified airspace;
• Low readiness level of technologies for beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights, which limits the expansion of UAS applications;
• The necessity to ensure technological sovereignty priority and competitiveness of Russian solutions at the global level;
• The absence of a structured personnel training system (including training of external pilots, certification specialists, engineers, and UAS developers);
• The need to ensure a high level of flight safety for manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, critical infrastructure, and the population amid a multiple increase in UAS utilization intensity.
The National Project “Unmanned Aerial Systems” will serve as the instrument to address these tasks.
The national project comprises five federal projects:
• “Stimulating Demand for Domestic UAS”;
• “Development, Standardization, and Serial Production of UAS and Components”;
• “Infrastructure Development, Safety Assurance, and Formation of a Specialized UAS Certification System”;
• “Personnel for Unmanned Aerial Systems”;
• “Fundamental and Advanced Research in the Field of UAS.”
Funding for the national project for 2024–2026 is preliminarily estimated to exceed 300 billion rubles: 48 billion rubles for 2024, 117 billion rubles for 2025, and 148 billion rubles for 2026 [58]. The share of domestically produced UAS in the total Russian market volume is expected to exceed 50% by 2026 and reach 80% by 2035, corresponding to 521,000 units and 1,777,000 units, respectively [2].
The federal project “Stimulating Demand for Domestic Unmanned Aerial Systems” aims to promote the use of domestically produced UAS and their components. The effectiveness criterion will be the quantity of Russian UAS procured by consumers. To achieve this, financial and regulatory support measures will be developed. Demand stimulation is expected to be implemented, among other means, through subsidizing part of the flight hour cost of unmanned aerial vehicles and launching a preferential leasing mechanism for aviation systems of ground infrastructure facilities.
By 2030, a network of Scientific and Production Centers (SPCs), accredited by Rosaviatsiya for the development and production of UAS in the regions, should be established. The industrial park “Rudnevo” in Moscow, launched in March 2023, has been selected as a core center. A total of 48 centers should be created nationwide, with 12 of them being major hubs. The federal project allocates 67.2 billion rubles for these purposes, including 51.2 billion rubles in government funding. To create three major regional scientific and production centers in Saint Petersburg, Tomsk, and Samara regions for UAS development and serial production, 4.8 billion rubles will be allocated from the federal budget.
The federal project “Personnel Training for the Unmanned Aviation Industry” foresees the development of UAS-related modules and their integration into general education, secondary vocational education, and relevant additional professional programs, creation of a digital personnel registry, and promotion of interest and prestige of the profession. According to the baseline scenario, the number of UAS specialists registered in the personnel database is projected to reach 330,000 by 2026 and 1.5 million by 2035.
The federal project “Fundamental and Advanced Research in the Field of Unmanned Aerial Systems” provides for conducting research and creating core advanced technologies with subsequent transfer to UAS developer enterprises for use in advanced serial UAS. It also involves creating an integration platform to set requirements for developing technologies, conducting comprehensive studies and tests to evaluate individual technologies and UAS as a whole, refining digital twins of UAS, simulating UAS flights to organize air traffic and airspace use, and continuously improving existing technologies in the UAS sector.
For the practical testing of legal features related to the use of agricultural drones, an Experimental Legal Regime (ELR) has been developed and enacted. The Agro-ELR was introduced by the Russian Government Decree No. 1510 dated September 16, 2023, in 12 Russian regions: the Republic of Tatarstan; Altai and Stavropol territories; Astrakhan, Volgograd, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Saratov, Tambov, and Ulyanovsk regions. This regime entails several requirements, among which are [59]:
• The flight altitude of an agricultural drone must not exceed 15 meters above ground level, and flight speed must not exceed 16 meters per second;
• The drone must be equipped with systems to avoid collision with obstacles, restrict flight zones, perform emergency flight termination, and other limitations;
• UAS must be mandatorily equipped with onboard navigation lights and signal beacons for safe operation during nighttime;
• Operators must be specialists who have completed appropriate theoretical and practical training;
• Operating organizations authorized to perform plant protection product application must confirm compliance with requirements, which are significantly eased compared to current general regulations.
Despite the above, there remains considerable scope for additional measures capable of ensuring the breakthrough development character of the industry in Russia. The following section presents structured key proposals that the expert community considers important and necessary.
7.1.
Proposals for Measures to Stimulate Demand for UAS and UAS-Based Services
It is necessary to consider that for the development of UAS application in agriculture, research on agrotechnologies must comply with the following principles:
• Experimental test plots aimed at obtaining reliable results should correspond in parameters to the fields used for crop production in the Russian Federation;
• Development of systems capable of fault tolerance during the full cycle of technological operations throughout the season;
• Testing of scenarios arising during large-scale application;
• Measurable and verified impact expressed in both physical and monetary terms for each element of agrotechnologies based on UAS use;
• The necessity to repeat experiments over several years under consistent conditions to exclude random factors and account for the influence of weather variability (seasonal weather differences);
• The possibility of using products that have not completed registration (experimental regime during registration trials).
Allocation of a subsidy amounting to 270 million rubles per year for the development of agrotechnologies at a specialized scientific and production center (SPC) for UAS application in crop production will enable the creation of a nationally accessible database of agrotechnologies for UAS use, as well as the implementation of master classes and training for agricultural producers in applying UAS in accordance with scientifically grounded agricultural techniques and technologies.
7.2.
Proposals for UAS Regulation Considering Agricultural Applications, Control, Monitoring, and Safe Operations
7.2.1. Permit flights of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for aerial chemical applications under a notification procedure, subject to the following conditions:
• Flight altitude not exceeding 30 meters above ground level;
• Flights conducted outside populated areas, avoiding engineering and transport infrastructure, buildings, and structures;
• Flights performed within the direct visual line of sight of the UAV operator.
7.2.2. In regions with a high risk of unlawful use of UAS, permit aerial chemical applications using UAS provided that UAVs are equipped with trackers for monitoring and controlling flight parameters by authorities responsible for flight organization and prevention of illegal use of airspace.
7.2.3. Communicate to users of the GIS “Saturn” system and regional divisions of Rosselkhoznadzor clarifications in the form of a letter from Rosselkhoznadzor regarding the reflection of agricultural UAS applications in GIS “Saturn,” criteria for classifying such treatments as mechanized (ground-based) methods, and the possibility of using corresponding products registered in the Russian Federation, considering the position of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation according to letter FS-AK-5/11972 dated May 16, 2023.
7.2.4. Simplify the process of obtaining UAV operator status for the purpose of conducting aerial chemical applications. This should be achieved by reducing personnel requirements (to the level applicable to UAV operators of vehicles weighing less than 30 kg) and by shortening the list of mandatory documents that applicants must prepare when applying for operator certification with authorized divisions of Rosaviatsiya. The list of required documents should take into account the specifics of operating agricultural drones that do not have aerodrome basing and do not require stationary bases or any other infrastructure facilities.
7.3.
Proposals for Workforce Development and Mass Training Programs
7.3. Workforce Provision for the Agricultural UAS Segment: Required Competencies
The workforce provision in the agricultural UAS segment must be considered from the perspective of required competencies. Some of these competencies overlap with other UAS segments (such as UAS for remote sensing and logistics), while others are specific to agricultural UAS. Below, these competencies are examined first in terms of design and manufacturing, and then regarding the operation of agricultural UAS.
7.3.1. Design and Manufacturing Competencies
As with other UAS segments, workforce competencies in Russia for the design and serial production of agricultural UAS must include expertise in designing unmanned aerial systems and their serial manufacturing. Unique competencies relate to the formation of a “usage model” for agricultural UAS to perform agricultural operations, as well as skills to prepare design specifications based on this usage model. Experience from other countries shows that even among leading nations, the number of teams deeply immersed in the specifics of the segment—capable of forming a comprehensive “usage model” for agricultural UAS and professionally drafting technical specifications (detailed technical requirements, engineering notes, and preliminary design)—is counted in single digits.
In Russia, there is also a significant gap between the number of ordinary designers—trained by numerous universities and specialized departments who can perform narrowly defined tasks such as preparing design documentation in accordance with Russian standards (ESKD and GOST)—and the number of chief and chief general designers capable of shaping a commercially successful specialized civilian UAS. Chief designers must be able to set tasks for their teams within the framework of cost-driven design concepts, possess gate management skills, and understand all stages of aircraft creation. Such chief (general) designers are rare, and the loss of each is a severe blow both for the company and the country, especially if such unique professionals are recruited by foreign companies. The only viable solution is individualized, hands-on interaction with each chief designer on every UAS type, rather than attempting systemic support mechanisms for multiple teams. Given the limited number of such teams, it is more effective to work individually with each.
7.3.2. Operational Competencies and Training
To ensure development of the agricultural UAS segment in terms of operation, it is necessary to provide affordable (subsidized for farmers) training in agricultural UAS application. For specialists with relevant agricultural education, knowledge, and experience in pesticide and agrochemical use according to current Russian regulations, training in agricultural UAS as a tool for agrotechnological operations—including theoretical instruction—takes approximately 80 to 160 hours. The minimal training package includes: (1) recorded theoretical course materials; (2) an online platform for theoretical knowledge testing; (3) access to a master pilot instructor; (4) a training complex with agricultural UAS; and (5) a training field of at least 50 hectares to develop and test practical skills in planning and controlling treatments (such as aerial seeding and fertilization) using UAS.
In addition to this minimal training package, trained specialists must have access to a database of methods and agrotechnologies for UAS application by crop types and hybrids grown in Russia, climatic conditions, tank mixtures, and products permitted for use in Russia (see related measure 7.1.3).
Given these factors, to timely supply the industry with the required number of specialists, opportunities must be provided for agricultural enterprise workers (mechanics, agronomists) to complete training courses free of charge or with 90% subsidization of the training cost. To support this, the theoretical part of the training should be regularly updated and made available for self-study. Agricultural state educational institutions, technical schools, and colleges should be subsidized for the acquisition of training complexes for the practical portion of training (included in measure 7.1.2 as part of state guaranteed orders). The best master pilots should be motivated to teach during the off-season period from October to April, when agricultural activity is low in Russia. To ensure free access for Russian farmers to the database of application methods (agrotechnologies for using UAS by each mass-grown crop in Russia, including tank mixtures and documented effects accounting for climate and soil conditions), measures outlined in 7.1.3 will be implemented through the specialized National Scientific-Production Center (NPC) responsible for agricultural UAS application development.