Putin demanded to approve the national project on drones by September 1

The national project for the development of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) must be approved by September 1. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his speech at the plenary session of the Future Technologies Forum.

“I ask you to approve it before September 1, 2023, and also take this priority into account when forming the budget for the 2024th and planning period until 2026,” the head of state said (quote according to TASS).

Putin pointed to the importance of creating the industries and markets of the future. According to him, it is in this logic that the national project for the development of drones was created.

In February, at a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, Putin informed on plans to develop a national project on unmanned systems. The goal is to ensure a high level of localization of drone production and opportunities for their widespread operation, he noted. The president instructed the government to form a national project.

April in government reportedthat it is planned to approve the national project by September 1. It includes four federal projects: “Personnel for unmanned aerial systems”, “Stimulation of demand for domestic UAS”, “Development, standardization and mass production of UAS and components”, as well as “Infrastructure development, security and formation of a specialized UAS certification system” .

July 10 Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin declaredthat the national project on drones will start working in the near future. According to him, civilian drones can become a growth driver for many sectors of the economy and the service sector. To do this, it is necessary to develop the production of their components, components and assemblies, the prime minister added.

As early as the end of 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to establish serial production of BAS in the country. The Cabinet of Ministers was supposed to form a commission on the development of drones, which would deal with tasks related to their development, production, certification and operation, development of the necessary infrastructure, etc. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov headed the commission.

On June 28, the government, on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation approved strategy for the development of unmanned aircraft until 2030 and for the future until 2035. The main goal of the document is the emergence over the next 6.5 years of a new branch of the economy related to the production and use of civilian drones.

The strategy includes five main areas: stimulating demand for domestic UAS, developing and mass-producing such systems, developing infrastructure, training personnel for unmanned aircraft, and fundamental and advanced research in the field of UAS.

In April, Putin allowedthat the volume of the unmanned aircraft industry in Russia can reach 1 trillion rubles. By evaluation Belousova, Russia by the end of 2026 will enter the production of drones in the amount of 18,000 units per year, which will cover 52% of domestic demand.