Demand for aerial photography services has fallen to a minimum

Since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the demand for commercial aerial photography services, including for geodesy and cartography, has fallen by more than 70%, profile companies have calculated. In those regions of the country where there are no restrictions on the launch of drones, prices for such services have increased by 50% due to a shortage of specialists diverted to military operations. Film and commercial filming companies are also suffering. According to experts, in order to save this business, it is necessary to simplify the issuance of permits for flying drones.

Companies providing aerial photography services told Kommersant that the demand for their services had “reduced to a minimum.” According to Geoplus (provides aerial survey services for geodesy, geology, cadastre in Moscow and the Moscow region), since February 2022, the number of requests for aerial photography has fallen by 70%, and in 2023, “demand has almost completely disappeared.” As a result, the company no longer provides services using drones, having completely switched to ground shooting of objects.

In Moscow and the Moscow region, the demand for aerial photography has completely disappeared, confirms Felix Fokin, director of development at the Innoter geospatial agency (aerial photography for remote sensing of the Earth, cartography, etc.). “We had to abandon a number of projects for aerial photography, concentrating on space photography,” he says.

At the same time, in regions where there are no restrictions on the launch of drones, prices for aerial photography have increased by 50% due to a shortage of drone operators and other specialists who “are now participating in a special military operation in Ukraine,” Mr. Fokin added.

Also, he clarifies, after the departure of large foreign companies, prices for imported components for drones increased by 70-100%. Now, judging by the data from the company’s website, the minimum cost of aerial photography is 100 thousand rubles.

Most of the regions began to restrict drone flights last fall in connection with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 757 of October 19. The situation worsened after a drone raid on Moscow in early May. As of June 1, a ban on the use of airspace for unmanned aerial vehicles has been introduced in 67 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Companies providing aerial filming services for cinema and advertising are also facing problems.

According to Dmitry Klubnichkin, a representative of Kinolet, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain permission, so operators “have to illegally launch drones to film commercial projects.” But, Mr. Klubnichkin clarifies, the FSO and the FSB “are increasingly threatening market participants with criminal cases.” “We approached government agencies with a proposal to allocate an employee for filming who would monitor the process, but we received permission only for orders for large government events,” he explains.

Additional risks are created by the anxiety of the population and security services, which in some cases plant or even destroy completely harmless drones. In 95% of all cases of falling small drones in Moscow, jammers are to blame, which jam only amateur equipment, but do not have any effect on military drones, Kinolet emphasizes. Meanwhile, the demand for drone detection and blocking systems is growing rapidly, not only among industrialists and transport workers, but also from citizens (see “Kommersant” dated May 31).

There is also indirect damage: citizens are reacting more and more sharply to drone flights, which leads to proceedings with law enforcement officers, says Vitaly Munirov, general director of Kursir LLC.

Back in November 2022, when restrictions were not as severe as they are now, drone manufacturers and operators calculated that they would lose 10 billion rubles each. in year (see “Kommersant” dated November 8, 2022), the current aggravation of the situation may increase losses. According to Mr. Munirov, aerial photography services are still in demand, but the market is affected by the duration of obtaining permits for flights, “therefore, the regulation needs to be changed in terms of simplifying them, allowing work to be done and providing access to airspace where it is possible and safe” .

Vadim Krasnikov