Two hundred thousand broadband satellite communication terminals for drones will be produced in Russia in 2026, announced Dmitry Bakanov, CEO of Roscosmos, to President Vladimir Putin.
He also showed the head of state the Earth observation satellite “Zorki“, which allows mapping. Three such satellites were launched from the “Vostochny“ cosmodrome on December 27 last year. It is planned to launch 99 satellites by 2031.
On Friday, Putin visited the “Aminevskoye“ depot of the Moscow Metro and viewed an exhibition of unmanned civil transport. Then he held a meeting on the development of autonomous and unmanned systems in Russia.
"Russia has great potential in the development and production of unmanned systems, and more active implementation of these technologies in key sectors of the economy is necessary," the president said, quoted by RBC.
The head of state has instructed the government to prepare a plan for the introduction of unmanned systems into the economy, establish legal regulations for the use of autonomous systems, and remove administrative barriers that hinder their integration. “This is not a whim, but a necessity,“ Putin emphasized.
“At the exhibition, we got acquainted with a whole range of such modern products and discussed their diverse application scenarios, including precision agriculture, forest protection, cargo delivery, construction, urban development, and security. And frankly, it's impressive!“, he said.
According to Putin, unmanned systems should replace low-skilled and dangerous labor and create a high-wage economy. “We are talking about increasing labor productivity and improving the quality of life of people“, he added.
The president said that important steps have been taken in the development of unmanned solutions, but Russia still lags significantly behind some other countries. He noted that in order to increase the production of unmanned aerial vehicles and their components, Russian business must be provided with favorable conditions. According to him, Russia must develop the export of such technologies in order to secure a place in the large global market.
The Russian strategy for the development of unmanned aviation was approved in June 2023. The program, which is valid until 2030, includes the establishment of serial production of domestic unmanned aerial vehicles, the creation of large-scale specialized industrial centers, the construction of airports and ports for drones, stimulating demand for unmanned aerial vehicles, training specialists, as well as fundamental and prospective research. According to the draft federal budget, 26 billion rubles are planned to be allocated to finance the national project “Unmanned Aviation Systems“ in 2026, 28.6 billion rubles in 2027 and 33.3 billion rubles in 2028.